Nell, the marshal's daughter, and Frank Ketchell, the young bank cashier, are sweethearts. The romance has progressed through years, and has reached the stage where Frank has purchased a diamond solitaire which he plans to place on Nell's finger that night. James Whitmore arrives in town, representing himself as a Secret Service man. He tells Marshal Bertram that he needs his assistance in locating a gang of counterfeiters who have flooded the country with spurious coin. Nell and Whitmore meet and the girl becomes infatuated with the affable stranger. Acting on Whitmore's suggestion, Bertram secures all the money from the local bank through Frank, takes it to his office for Whitmore to examine for counterfeit. Meanwhile Bertram confesses to Frank that it is he himself who is the counterfeiter, explaining that he transgressed the law in days gone by that he might send his daughter Nell through college.