Murder, mystery, and mayhem follow Jimmy Snyder when he is arrested and thrown in jail for killing Grady, a crime he did not commit. After being released for lack of evidence, he sets out to find the real killer and runs into more killing and mischief. He falls for Julia Jesperson and more obstacles are put in his path to prevent him from finding out what is really going on in this quiet little town in Southern Utah.

Sheriff Bill Little has his hands full when Jack Jolley comes to The Gulch. Jolley is followed by his boss, Charlie Bender, owner of the CB Ranch with his herd of cattle and his ranch hands. The Sheriff hires a Deputy, Archie Mahoney, to help him control the CB gang and the trouble-making Ute Indians, Red Nose and Chimmy Royo. Also, there are the Sawley brothers wanted for rustling cattle in Wyoming, and there is the shooting of a newcomer who intends to sing in the Boot Trail Saloon, owned by Skinny Skinner. Someone tries to kill the Sheriff, and, as if that weren't enough, Deputy Mahoney can't make up his mind which girl to marry, Abigail, the doctor's daughter, or Tessie, the sister-in-law of Mr. Althorpe. And then there are the cowboys from Wyoming in cahoots with the rustlers and it all comes to a head in a shootout in the saloon.

Tom Anderson returns to Hillside after a two-year mission and gets caught up in a bank robbery. Not knowing much about the law, Sheriff O'Shaughnessy makes him a Deputy and tells him to chase the outlaws with the help of Chet Amundsen and Cadmus Brownson assigned to retrieve the money for the Mormon Church. Tom and Chet both fall for Amelia Sharp, whose family owns the Hillside general store. Their rivalry follows them on the trail of the outlaws and the problems that arise in the pursuit of justice. Characters from the past and present make this an entertaining story of the Old West that takes place in Utah Territory, including gunfights, Indians, bank robberies, and the everyday routine of ordinary people.

Sheriff Cyrus Ocklund wakes up one morning to find that his Deputy has been strangled to death. He hires a Ute Indian to help him find the killer and do other duties in the small, quiet town of High Bench, Utah Territory. A gang of outlaws blows up the bank and takes off with the money. The Sheriff rounds up a posse and follows the trail of the outlaws. A woman posse member is taken captive, further aggravating the situation, and the small posse is not large enough to take on the thieves. An exciting story of cat and mouse to the final shootout along the Green River.

Slim Sanglant, released from prison, is now seeking revenge against those in Upamona who helped put him there, and Red Skene, former U. S. Marshal and now County Sheriff is the man on his trail. There is a killing, houses and a barn are set on fire, and people come up missing before Red can get to the bottom of it. And get to the bottom of it he does with the help of his half-breed deputy, Bushy Carlsen, who is hit by a bolt of lightning that knocks him unconscious just as he sees who he thinks may be setting the fires. But who was it? And while Red is looking for the killer and arsonist, his wife is thinking about someone else and having serious doubts about their marriage.

Marshal Chappie Wesford, recalled to active Army duty, arrives in Altaveel to give a Civil War Award to Roger Proudmire and Calvin Fedderson. He talks to Bishop Thorneycraft and others about the two honorees regarding their honesty and worthiness, but the Henberry family thinks he has come to take over their business and land, and proceed to make his life difficult. Chappie meets Esther Bigknife, a widow, but there is a relationship between her and Milt Henberry. Milt doesn't like him interfering, and he and Oakley, his young brother, try to kill him. It all comes to a head on the Fourth of July, when Wesford delivers the award at the big Fourth of July celebration and asks Esther to marry him.

Chappie returns to Altaveel a few months later on the trail of outlaws who held up the bank in Price, and Milt Henberry is his deputy. One of the outlaws is Obadiah Henberry, Milt's uncle, who was invited to do a job for the elder Jim Henberry and to bring a couple of friends. Wesford and Milt track the outlaws down, and there is a shootout on the Six-Mile Road as they bring the robbers to justice.

U. S. Marshal Red Skene is on the trail of two prison escapees who have joined up with Slim Sanglant, the meanest, toughest, and biggest sheepherder in Upamona. Working under cover as Utah's worst outlaw, Skene plans to join the gang, but his plans are changed when he has a run-in with Sanglant. Red helps his cousins, Fred and Jed Cadwell, with their gold mine in the High Uintahs where Sanglant's gang has been digging on the Cadwell claim. Skene meets and falls in love with Colleen Ryan. Rueben Graves, one of the outlaws, kills the storekeeper and the town thinks Red is mixed up in it. Red shows his badge and with his cousins takes on the Sanglant gang and a bountry hunter who tries to interfere.