Jeff Kennett and his drovers have brought a herd of 2,000 longhorns all the way from Texas to California, believing there is a fortune to be made by transporting the cattle by river boat to San Francisco. The Gold Rush is on and there is a tremendous demand for beef. Kennett has been referred to Captain Bill Ballinger, headquartered in Sacramento, as the man who can best pilot the cattle downriver. But Colonel Nathaniel Sharpe and his partner, Noah Carlin, assure Kennett that they can accomplish the job faster and cheaper than Ballinger, and they won't take no for an answer ...