Buck and Charlie, two hard-boiled cowboys, arrive at the Bar Nothing Ranch in Arizona and determine to take advantage of the peculiarity of the owner, Fred Saunders, known as "Lone Hand" because he never uses his right hand. Saunders rescues Buddy, a crippled boy, in the desert and places him in the town orphanage under the care of Alice Mills; but Saunders is accused of robbing the local stage. The sheriff, however, refuses to believe his friend is the culprit. Saunders reveals to Buddy that he is a surgeon, and that because his sister died before he could operate on her, he vowed never again to use his right hand. The stage is robbed again and the driver killed, infuriating the town against Saunders, who seems to fit the bandit's description; and Buck, the real culprit, leads a posse to him. Saunders persuades the posse to wait until he operates on Buddy, then tricks Buck into a confession, which Alice corroborates.