Mexican peasant Joaquin Murieta and his wife go north to California to prospect for gold, finding only one white person, a marshal, who will befriend them. But after Murieta is beaten and robbed, and his wife killed by bandits, Murieta takes out his vengeance by forming a gang of outlaws who rob the countryside. Murieta is eventually cornered by the marshal, who persuades him to end his crusade. But when Murieta is later wounded and convalescent, his gang operates a reign of terror without his knowledge, leading to his death at the marshal's hands in a final battle.