On a frontier railroad in the Old West, Jesse and his gang seize a train carrying gold. He slips two small bars into his personal saddlebags while his lieutenant, Reed, oversees the rest of the haul. Then Cole, the lover he separated from a year earlier, boards alone. Now a deputy, Cole voluntarily gives up his gun and asks Jesse to release the hostages, abandon the gold, and come back with him before matters get worse.

Resentful of Cole’s badge and his appeal to surrender, Jesse responds coldly. Reed takes the opportunity to beat Cole and force him to his knees in front of his former lover. Jesse finally draws his gun to stop another blow, then has Cole cuffed beside him. Once they are alone, Cole challenges Jesse for allowing the assault and admits that he has missed him. Jesse’s teasing gives way to remorse. With Cole’s permission, he gently cleans the blood from his mouth. Their intimacy returns, but the harm between them remains.

Cole then learns Jesse’s plan: keep the rear gold car at South Junction and send the forward section crashing into the valley to block pursuit. The engineer and wounded guard will die with it. Cole insists that Jesse confront those lives directly. Faced with the guard’s suffering and the blood on Cole’s cuffed wrist, Jesse cancels the wreck and orders the train stopped safely. He agrees to release the innocent men, but still refuses to surrender.

When the train fails to slow, they discover that Reed intends to defy the order. Determined to take the gold and control of the gang, he plans to eliminate both Jesse and Cole. Jesse quietly unlocks Cole’s cuffs and gives him his revolver. Together, they stage a bitter falling-out, making it appear that Cole has overpowered Jesse. The performance draws Reed and an accomplice into the car, where the former lovers turn on them together and secure both men.

Cole stays to guard the prisoners and help the wounded escort while Jesse reaches the locomotive, overpowers the outlaw threatening the engineer, and allows the train to slow. On his way back, a damaged railing breaks beneath him. Cole catches his forearm and pulls him to safety. In the embrace that follows, neither can pretend their feelings have faded.

At sunset, the train stops safely at South Junction. Jesse hands Reed and most of the gold over to Cole, then admits that he should have stopped the beating sooner. He initiates a kiss, and Cole draws him close and returns it. Yet their renewed affection does not resolve the conflict between them. Cole has made no promise to let Jesse go.

When the wounded guard calls for help, Cole turns to treat him. Jesse mounts a horse with the two gold bars still in his saddlebags. He tells Cole he wants to buy him a house somewhere far away. Cole refuses a future paid for with stolen money, and his duty to the bleeding guard keeps him from giving chase. Jesse invites him to come looking. “The gold, or you?” Cole asks. “Both,” Jesse answers.

Jesse rides into the sunset while Cole stays to finish the bandage and watch the prisoners. Their love has been acknowledged, but neither has surrendered his choices. The robbery is over. Their pursuit of each other is not.