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Latigo slips away from Goldie's grasp by tipping the headwaiter to help him depart without her noticing. He sneaks off the train at Purgatory, a rough mining town in frontier Colorado. This escape marks the start of his scramble for fortune and freedom from Goldie's hold.

Latigo soon learns that two mining companies, run by bitter rivals Taylor Barton and Colonel Ames, are locked in a race to locate a legendary mother lode nearby. Dynamite blasts periodically shake the town and threaten to blow it apart. The tense feud hints that fortune—and danger—are both within reach for the right con artist.

Latigo visits the town doctor to treat a personal embarrassment, only to have the physician reveal a shocking secret hidden on his chest. The large tattoo of Goldie exposes his attachment to her. The moment underscores his vulnerability and foreshadows the trouble to come.

Latigo's addiction to roulette erupts as he wagers his way into ruin on his 'lucky' number 23. He loses all his money at the table, leaving him penniless and desperate. The loss pushes him toward new schemes to claw back his fortune.

With no money to spare, Latigo turns his charm toward Miss Jenny, the saloon keeper, to secure shelter and influence in town. Their budding relationship provides him a new social footing as he navigates local schemes. The romance is tense because his debts loom behind every gesture.

Latigo, spurred by the Swifty Morgan misidentification, persuades Jug May to impersonate the infamous gunslinger. They concoct a ruse to gain the town's attention and to complicate the real Swifty's path. The ruse entangles both men in a web of bluff and danger.

Latigo attracts Patience Barton, 'The Sidewinder', who longs to escape frontier life and attend Miss Hunter's College in New York. Her interest in him complicates the Bartons' feud and sends him deeper into town politics.

When Latigo and Jug back the Bartons in the dispute, Colonel Ames dispatches a telegram to Swifty Morgan informing him of the deception. The message accelerates Swifty's planned arrival and the forthcoming showdown.

Swifty Morgan arrives and immediately challenges Jug to a gunfight. Latigo shows up atop a donkey loaded with dynamite, turning the confrontation into a dangerous spectacle. Swifty underestimates the setup, is startled by the blast, and fires accidentally.

The mine blast rocks the town as the donkey bolts toward the Bartons' saloon. The explosion uncovers the mother lode and rips away Latigo's tattoo, leaving him shaken but intact. The upheaval also shifts the balance of power in the town.

Latigo bets $10,000 of the Bartons' money on the number 23 and wins big at the roulette table. The windfall clears his debts and marks a turning point in his fortunes. The victory also cements his reputation as someone who can tilt fate to his favor.

On the back of a train toward Denver, Latigo and Patience set off to marry, signaling a potential new life together. Jug narrates their fate from the train, hinting at what lies ahead.

Patience never goes to Miss Hunter's College herself, but her seven daughters do attend, shaping a more educated future for the family in New York. The education of the girls contrasts with the frontier chaos they've left behind. The family's fortunes continue to hinge on the choices of Latigo and Patience.

Taylor Barton has his life on track: his flat is fixed and he marries Miss Abigail. The Colonel Ames goes broke as the schemes collapse, and Swifty Morgan remains stubbornly attached to his boots, a running joke as the town recalibrates. Jug May goes on to become a big star in Italian Westerns.