The Texan, a Civil War Veteran whose reputation of being the fastest gun in the west precedes him, roams across Texas from town to town, not looking for trouble; trouble finds him.

Bill finds an old prospector almost dead from thirst and brings him to the railroad workers' camp; men from a rival outfit talk the old man into spreading a story about finding gold, hoping to lure workers away from their jobs.

A group of convicts take over the work train and hold the entire construction crew hostage; Bill, who the convicts believe is dead, makes it back to the site and tries to stop them.

Bill is planning to leave the railroad worker camp and move on, but a former crewman shows up to make trouble; Bill learns the man is working as field agent for the company that the workers hoped to get a new contract from.

Bill saves a government agent from an ambush; the agent is carrying a list of landowners who are refusing to pay their taxes, and Bill learns the daughter of one of those landowners arranged the ambush.