Doris Maxwell, [Judith Allen], begins drilling for oil, and the town’s independent cowboy Gene Autry, [Gene Autry], tries to stop it, fearing the water supply could be ruined. Doris’s father, bank president Maxwell, [William Farnum], has secretly embezzled $25,000 to fund the drilling, setting off a web of motives and loyalties that ripple through the community.
Their clash escalates when Gene shoots out the tires on Doris’s car and she rides off on his horse, Champion. The grip of ambition tightens as Doris, who runs a radio station above Sing Low’s cafe, [Willie Fung], broadcasts a program sponsored by the oil company that targets Gene; when Gene learns of the trick, he sets out in a rage to find her.
George Wilkins, [Weldon Heyburn], the man in charge of the drilling, takes Doris to the site and tells her the well is dry, pressing for more funds from her father to “bring in” the production. Doris doesn’t know that Wilkins is plotting to swindle Maxwell by paying for equipment while stalling the drill, with the aim of taking over the lucrative lease when the bank’s agreement expires.
While delivering the payroll to the drilling site, Wilkins and Doris are held up by two thieves who are actually Wilkins’ henchmen. Gene arrives to rescue them and reluctantly returns the money to Doris, who continues on to the drilling site. Back at the bank, Maxwell has attempted suicide after learning the bank examiner is coming; Gene protects him from embezzlement charges by making it look as if Maxwell was shot during a robbery, securing a dangerous secret from unraveling.
Sometime later, Gene learns the railroad will go through town if the oil comes in, and he tells Wilkins that he will publicly back the drilling. Not wanting any public attention on his operation, Wilkins orders his men to hold Gene captive until after the lease transfer. Gene escapes and alerts the townspeople to Wilkins’ crooked dealings. Wilkins then spreads a rumor that Gene swindled his friends by selling them worthless oil stock, and later accuses Gene of being behind the bank robbery. A mob forms and presses in, forcing Gene to flee.
At the oil well, Gene finds Sam Brown, an oil worker who was shot by Wilkins after discovering the well only needed dynamiting to come in. Gene gets a doctor to treat Sam, and, with Frog Millhouse, [Smiley Burnette], dynamites the well despite opposition from Wilkins and the crowd. After the blast, the well comes in and the Maxwell-Autry company prospers. Gene distributes dividends to his friends on their investment, and Frog, who has been searching for an addition to his butterfly collection, discovers a poor specimen.
