John Shefford is looking for his uncle Venters who years ago found a hidden valley and lived there with Jane Withersteen and young Fay Larkin. He finds Kay, now grown, who tells John that Willets and his men got into the nearly inaccessible valley and she has agreed to marry him to save the lives of the other two. John and Fay head for the valley with Willets and with his men right behind.
Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers ("Isn't that a contradiction in terms?", another character asks him) travels to Canada in the 1880s in search of Jacques Corbeau, who is wanted for murder. He wanders into the midst of the Riel Rebellion, in which Métis (people of French and Native heritage) and Natives want a separate nation. Dusty falls for nurse April Logan, who is also loved by Mountie Jim Brett. April's brother is involved with Courbeau's daughter Louvette, which leads to trouble during the battles between the rebels and the Mounties. Through it all Dusty is determined to bring Corbeau back to Texas (and April, too, if he can manage it.)