When corrupt lawyer Lew Walters is run out of a Texas town, he abducts Millie Erne and her young daughter Bess and forces them to accompany him, mortally wounding and leaving behind a heartbroken husband and father. Millie's brother, Texas Ranger Jim Carson, leaves his service behind, takes the name Jim Lassiter, and dedicates his life to finding Walters and his sister and niece. After many years, his search leads him to
Cottonwood, Arizona, and the ranch of Jane Withersteen. Jane is attracted to the stranger after he rescues her chief rider, Bern Venders, from being flogged for a crime he did not commit. She tells him that Millie died while searching for her daughter after little Bess was abducted. Lassiter and Venters go after a gang of rustlers who have been raiding the Withersteen ranch and stealing their cattle. They wound and capture the masked leader of the gang, who turns out to be a young beautiful woman. She is revealed to be Bess Erne, Lassiter's long-lost niece. Venters takes charge of the wounded girl, taking her to a secret location, Surprise Valley. The two soon fall in love, and leave the valley to marry. Meanwhile, Jane admits to Lassiter that the man he is hunting, Lew Walters, is in fact a local judge, now calling himself Judge Dyer. Lassiter rides into town and rushes into Dyer's courtroom, shooting the villain with deadly precision. Soon after, a posse is formed and goes after Lassiter, who flees with Jane and her adopted ward, Fay Larkin, into the mountains surrounding Surprise Valley. They take refuge from their pursuers on a high plateau overlooking the entrance to the valley. The only approach to their hiding place is by a set of stairs cut into the side of the cliff. Lassiter rolls a boulder down from the heights to block the posse's path. There is now no way out. He, Jane and little Fay are trapped inside Surprise Valley forever. ==Cast==