Old-time outlaw Jersey Brady (Percy Kilbride) tells the story of his ex-partner, notorious highwayman Charles E. Boles, also known as Black Bart (Dan Duryea).

The next day when they reach Sacramento, Wells Fargo manager Mark Lorimer and Sheriff Gordon (Lloyd Gough) hire Lance and Jersey, whom they consider their new heroes, as coach guards.

One day, Charles gets Lola alone and the two fall in love, but after he admits he is Black Bart, she implores him to give up his criminal life to be with her, and he agrees to do so after just one last job.

Meanwhile, Sheriff Gordon devises a plan for Lance to act as lookout for a posse of deputies who are to guard a coach carrying the payload that will save Wells Fargo.

Making a final statement about not knowing what happened to Lola after the incident and that Charles's death convinced him to go straight, Jersey wraps up his story from his current home, a jail cell.

The script is a highly fictionalized portrayal of real-life highwayman, Charles E. Boles, also known as Black Bart, who robbed several stagecoaches in Northern California and Southern Oregon between 1875 and 1883.

[4][5] In April, 1947, Universal announced the lead roles were to be played by Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea, and Edmond O'Brien;[6] O'Brien soon dropped out to appear in A Double Life and was replaced by Jeffrey Lynn who had just completed his long career at Warner Bros.[7] Portions of the movie were filmed in Utah at Kanab Canyon, Strawberry Valley, and Strawberry Point.