When the Elkhorn Ranch is invaded by a gang of horse thieves, Theodore Roosevelt and his men put up a valiant fight, but the thieves escape with a string of new horses. An indignant Roosevelt joins up with the Stranglers, a posse of vigilantes led by Granville Stuart who mete out their own brand of frontier justice in the absence of any law enforcement in the Badlands. When they catch up with one of the thieves, Roosevelt learns firsthand that frontier justice isn’t always just. Meanwhile, the business of Elkhorn is thrown into chaos when Merrifield meets with a Chicago beef merchant behind Sewall’s back. Sewall takes matters into his own hands by striking a deal with Medora, an act of defiance that has disastrous consequences. When Wilmot Dow meets the lovely Rosie at the Hotel de Morés, the two youngsters spark an immediate connection.