Billy Blue is captured by the Apaches, who use him as a pawn in a bartering game to stave off an impending cavalry attack. Although he denies pillaging an army weapons patrol, Apache Chief Morales anticipates a retaliatory attack by the cavalry and threatens the life of his hostage, Blue, unless his terms are met. John Cannon, who believes the Indians to be innocent of the pillaging charge, pleads for time, and vows to bring in the guilty parties in a desperate attempt to save his son.

A former prison doctor accused of malpractice becomes the only man to whom John Cannon can appeal in efforts to save the life of his seriously ill wife. Lawman Tad Garnet requests a night's lodging at the Cannon ranch while escorting Mathew Kendel, a one-time prison physician, to jail on charges of willfully causing the deaths of many of his convict patients. When Victoria suddenly falls ill and needs an operation to save her life, John must ask the now-embittered Kendel for help.

Blue is the victim of a practical joke that finds him enlisted as a temporary lawman Tricked into being sworn in as a deputy marshal by Manolito and his Uncle Buck, Blue is forced to take the job seriously when the town's regular lawman departs leaving him in charge of the entire town. Blue's new authority enables him to exact a sweet revenge on Manolito and Buck.

Determined to seek a new career as an artist, Blue announces his decision to leave the Cannon Ranch for good. Blue is chided by men of the Chaparral for assuming his drawings have merit. Blue has the last work, however, when an editor sees some of his work and offers him a high-paying job in the city.

A gunfighter attempts to goad Blue into a shootout. Participating in his first trails-end celebration that traditionally follows a grueling cattle drive, Blue joins his father John Cannon, Uncle Buck and Manolito and the town's other weary but happy cowhands in observing the occasion. A barroom argument develops between Blue and short-tempered Johnny Keough, who invites young Blue outside to settle the matter with their guns. Well aware of the obvious advantage the well-known gunman Keough has over him but also concerned about his own pride as a result of being publicly challenged, Blue finds himself facing one of the most important decisions of his life.

After accidentally uncovering a silver deposit, an excited Buck Cannon wastes no time in talking Manolito into joining him in a major real estate investment. Unable to raise the down payment to Jeff Patterson, who has agreed to sell his ranch, Buck invites Manolito to be his financial backer for half-interest. After Victoria has turned over a priceless necklace to her brother for collateral on a loan, the new land owners learn hat their silver cache is worthless.

Convinced by Victoria that he needs a vacation, John reluctantly leaves Buck, Manolito and Blue in charge of the ranch and returns to an Indian uprising. Victoria convinces John that he needs a break from the rigors of his work. The Cannons take what is intended to be a carefree vacation, leaving the ranch in the eager but inexperienced hands of Buck, Manolito and Blue. John returns to find that the boys have made a few mistakes, not the least of which is the provoking of an all-out Apache uprising.

Because she once ""magically"" saved the life of an Indian brave, Victoria is forcibly brought to an Apache camp to treat the chief's dying son. In awe of Victoria, who he believes to possess special curative powers since she treated him, Apache brave Nemo demands that she similarly aid the critically wounded son of his tribal chief. Victoria's own life is in the balance when she realizes there is little hope for the injured man.

Blue falls in love with an attractive houseguest but the romance is marred when the girl and her father reveal the true purpose of their visit. Promoter Gar Burnett and daughter Trece charm their way into being invited to the Chaparral Ranch as part of a scheme to blackmail John Cannon. Enamored of the girl, Blue refuses to believe that Trece was aware of her father's plot.

Buck angrily parts company with his brother John when a long-smoldering family feud is brought out into the open. Fed up with menial jobs on the Chaparral, Buck is ignored when he complains to his older brother John and so he leaves the ranch once and for all. When Blue also turns against him, John finally agrees to go after Buck who refuses to return.

Left in charge of the Chaparral, Blue fails in his first major test of responsibility and then takes drastic steps to redeem himself. In the absence of his father, John Cannon, his Uncle Buck and Manolito, Blue is given full authority to run the ranch only to have their prize stallion stolen by bandits. Hurt by his father's criticism and determined to regain his confidence, Blue faces the bandits alone in his attempt to retrieve the valuable horse.

The Cannon Ranch faces wholesale resignations by hired hands because of a series of attacks on men and cattle by an unknown assailant. Convinced that the source of the fear is a former employee, John directs a search for the man. Cannon and his men are stunned on learning they have been tracking the wrong man after they find their quarry dead, victim himself of the mysterious marauder.

Told to make himself at home while a houseguest at the Cannon ranch, Don Sebastian Montoya, father of Victoria and Manolito, does just that and inadvertently provokes an Indian attack. Unaccustomed to the rugged life that is part of the operation of the Cannon ranch, wealthy Don Sebastian Montoya proves a disruptive influence by refusing to be without the luxuries he enjoys on his own estate. The demanding houseguest ignores one rule too many and the result is an Indian uprising.

Buck becomes involved in gold robbery by helping an old Army buddy. A happy reunion between Buck Cannon and Army Sgt. Travis Winslow leads to Buck's hiring as a scout for Winslow and his detachment of men, who are escorting a military gold shipment through Apache country. En route, Buck learns that the Indians are not the only threat.

A former gunfighter's new life as a Cannon ranchhand is jeopardized by four enemies. Other Cannon ranchhands and Johnny's teen-age son, Dan, who are unaware of Johnny's reputation, misinterpret his refusal to wear a gun and otherwise go out of his way to avoid confrontation with anyone. Any doubts as to Rondo's courage are soon dispelled however, when he is challenged by three men out of his past.

Victimized by two amateur but charming teen-aged cattle rustlers, Buck and Manolito make the mistake of trying to reform them. Intent on impressing her outlaw father, Annie Croswell and her friend Bet Roberts steal the horses of Buck and Manolito. Easily tracked and captured by their victims, the two teen-teenagers are given a second chance by being brought to the Cannon Ranch, where it is hoped they can be dissuaded from following the footsteps of Annie's father.

Tired of the daily grind as cowhands on the Cannon Ranch, Manolito and Buck leave to operate their own recently-purchased spread and find they have only added to their woes. Convinced they can have an easier life by being their own bosses, Manolito and Buck tell John of their decision to go out on their own. It is not long before the somewhat lazy Manolito and the less-than-neat Buck realize that as friends they make bad business partners.

Victoria's life is imperiled when she insists upon crossing dangerous Indian country to go to the aid of a friend. Separated from her escorts Buck and Manolito when they are attacked by Apaches, Victoria is captured by a lone Indian who leads her on foot across the desert. Apparently ""rescued"" by a trio of men who overpower her captor, Victoria soon realizes her troubles have just begun when the riders turn out to be bandits on the run from the law.

For the first time in his life, Manolito falls seriously in love but his romance takes a tragic turn when Comancheros decide to settle a debt. Enamored of beautiful Mercedes Vega De Sonora, a childhood sweetheart who returns to the Montoya ranch for a visit after a long absence, Manolito proposes marriage. Their plans are disrupted when bandits led by the vengeful Sanchez and Teniente kidnap Mercedes in an ambush. Though seriously injured, a desperate Manolito joins the men of the Chaparral in search for his loved one.

Stranded in the desert following an attack by bandits, John, Victoria and Manolito add to their troubles when they seek shelter in what they assume to be a deserted ghost town. While on their way to town in a buckboard, John, Victoria and Manolito are accosted by renegades Bennett, Lippert and Moore who make off with valuables and horses, leaving John seriously hurt. Manolito locates a makeshift shelter in what appears to be a deserted community only to learn the hard way that the town has other residents, among them Marcum, an aging former lawman who resents intruders.

Bandits take advantage of Manolito's affinity for a pretty face by absconding with one of his girlfriends and cash, the theft of which threatens the loss of the Cannon ranch. Entrusted with money to buy a huge cattle herd, Manolito is overpowered by Matar and Kyle who head for the border with both the booty and Manolito's fiery girlfriend, Juanita. John Cannon, Buck and Blue and Manolito give chase but it is the feminine wiles of Juanita and Victoria Cannon with which the bandits soon learn they must contend.

Joanna Moore stars as the pretty head of a struggling freight company to whom smitten Buck Cannon not only offers his help but a proposal of marriage. Buck is swept off his feet by the down-to-earth Charly Converse, who hits town with her crew of wagons and drivers bent on building a freight-hauling business. Buck stuns everybody with his decision to take a wife. Pardee, Charly's unscrupulous competitor, makes a last ditch stand to run her out of town, and the business as well as Buck's romance undergoes a true test.

The Cannon Ranch is threatened by an Indian war when the military sends a bounty hunter after an Apache brave accused of murder. Johnny Ringo reveals to his old friend Manolito that he has been assigned by the cavalry to arrest Keono. Manolito, fearing Ringo may trigger an Indian uprising, insists on accompanying the bounty hunter. Ignoring Manolito's warnings, Ringo gets his man and involves himself and the men of the Chaparral Ranch in a hopelessly one-sided shoot-out with attacking Apaches.

Joe, foreman of the Cannon Ranch, threatens to quit over John Cannon's mistrust of a new hired hand but later realizes that John's suspicions were well-founded. In need of new help for an upcoming cattle drive, Joe hires drifter Jelks, whose attitude and actions are questioned by the boss. Dissention erupts between John and his foreman over the new man, who inadvertently solves their differences by proving one of them wrong.

Men of the Cannon ranch are caught in the middle of a confrontation between a neighboring rancher and a young cavalry officer determined to arrest him. When Lt. Jason Adams reveals his intent to bring in neighboring rancher Henry Simmons on a long-standing desertion charge, Billy Blue makes an ill-advised effort to warn Simmons and his daughter Martha. Resigned to giving himself up, Simmons prepares to do so but, fearing for her father's life, Martha reacts and provokes a military siege of their home.