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At the Medicine Bow boys orphanage, Judge Garth and Betsy witness a speaking context sponsored by the Judge. Toby Shea (Kurt Russell) gives a speech about his great father and says he is an army spy which the other boys say is a lie. Meanwhile, the boy's real father, Jim Shea (Rory Calhoun) is released from prison having served six years for robbery and is accosted by two former partners, Earl (Bing Russell) and Wade (Harry Lauter). They demand money they stole together and will not believe Jim's story that he lost his horse and the money crossing a river. Jim escapes them and hops a freight.

Toby runs away from the orphanage to find his Pa and meets Trampas who gives him a lift, guesses he is from the orphanage, and talks him into going back. When Trampas drops Toby off, Toby pretends to the other students that Trampas is his long lost father. Jim Shea visits his wife's grave with a lawyer and gets a letter left by his wife saying their son is in an orphanage and that he should not contact the boy. He does manage to find out however, through his wife's former landlady (Francis Morris), that the boy is at Medicine Bow. At a dance in town, Trampas meets and is smitten with the orphanage teacher, Ellen Lawrence (Joanna Moore), from whom he learns Toby has been telling everyone that Trampas is his father.

Jim Shea goes to the orphanage to just see the boy and does not reveal his true identity, telling Ellen his name is Jim Hanson. He leaves and Trampas arrives to take Ellen on a picnic on which Toby tags along and gets Trampas to promise he will continue to pretend he is his father for a week. Toby continually interrupts Trampas' attempts to kiss Ellen; in one case Toby falls off a horse and when they go to him Toby says no one can be a real rider unless one falls off a horse six times and gets back on seven. In town, the Virginian tries to find extra hands and hires on Jim "Hanson" who decides not to leave town. Earl and Wade have learned that Toby is at the orphanage and from Ellen they learn another man also visited whom they suspect is Jim Shea.

The Judge hosts a party for the orphanage kids at Shiloh and all the hands help out. Ellen recognizes Jim and hears him use the same phrase about learning to ride that Toby used and suspects he is Toby's father and tells Trampas. In the bunkhouse that evening, Trampas runs down Toby as a ploy to get Jim Shea to reveal himself and it works when he slugs Trampas. He reveals to the Judge and Virginian that he was in prison and that he wants to reveal himself to his son. Later, working on the range he is found by Earl and Wade who demand $6,000 and inform him they have kidnapped his son. Jim does not know what to do but when he learns the Judge is supposed to have $10,000 cash in his desk he breaks in that night only to be caught by Trampas. He tells the Judge and Trampas his plight.

The Judge gets the ransom money for Jim and trailed by the Shiloh hands and Emmett Ryker, Jim visits the cabin where his former partners are holding Toby. He is revealed to Toby as his father but Earl and Wade want to keep Toby as insurance until they get away. Jim manages to grab Toby and run outside but is seriously wounded by Earl. However, Trampas shoots Earl and the Shiloh crew capture the felons. Jim finally recovers and he and Toby ride off to a new life.