Branded

Gunfighter Choya is cornered by Leffingwell and Tattoo in the mountains and forced to participate in a plan to bilk a rich rancher, Lavery. Tattoo creates a tattoo on Choya's shoulder to seal the lie. Leffingwell shoots Tattoo in the back once the scheme is set.

Choya rides to the Bar M ranch and asks foreman Ransome for a job. Lavery and his daughter Ruth arrive on horseback and hire him. Ruth explains her five-year-old brother was kidnapped years ago.

Lavery notices the tattoo and is shocked because his long-lost son had a similar mark. Choya pretends the connection is a coincidence and spins a childhood memory to convince them he truly is Richard, Jr.

Leffingwell arrives and is hired at the ranch, revealing his plot to kill Lavery so Choya can inherit. The tension between loyalty and old schemes deepens.

Guilt drives Choya to propose an alternative: steal Lavery's stock during a cattle roundup rather than kill him. Ruth rides along on the risky plan.

Choya agrees to the plot but secretly deposits the cattle money in the Laverys' account in an El Paso bank, effectively betraying Leffingwell. He also learns that Leffingwell kidnapped the boy.

Choya learns that Tonio is Lavery's son, raised by Rubriz under a false name. This revelation deepens the stakes as loyalties shift toward the Lavery family.

Choya crosses the border with Tonio and persuades him to return to his real family. They escape Rubriz's pursuit.

Rubriz sends his men after Choya and Tonio, and Tonio is wounded during the pursuit. Leffingwell is killed in a stampede while chasing them.

Choya and Tonio are rescued by Lavery and Ransome on the Texas side of the Rio Grande, strengthening the tie between Choya and the Lavery family.

Rubriz arrives with his men to kill them, but he is disarmed by Choya, who convinces him that Tonio did not betray him. Rubriz agrees that Tonio should stay with the Lavery family and may visit anytime.

Choya plans to ride away for good, but Ruth follows him and says she will accompany him. She joins him on his horse, they kiss, and Choya heads his horse back toward the ranch house.