Open Range plot
The cowboy Tex Smith is intrigued by a poster with the portrait of Lucy Blake who lives in the cattle settlement Marco. Meanwhile, Chief Brave Bear is angry with the whites for invading his territory. He teams up with Sam Hardman to steal cattle at a rodeo in Marco, and Tex is mistakenly considered one of the cattle thieves. At the rodeo, Tex tries to impress Lucy by riding a wild horse. When Lucy loses control of her horses during the carriage race, Tex rescues her, avoiding Sheriff Daley's aides. Hardman and his accomplice Red plan to capture Tex before Daley arrests him. But Lucy, convinced of his innocence, wants to hide Tex at her ranch.