An old lighthouse keeper who lives with his daughter secretly keeps a prehistoric fish-man by feeding it scraps and fish. One day he misses the feeding and all hell breaks loose.

After being released from prison, ex-gunfighter John Wesley Hardin hopes to have his autobiography published in order to rehabilitate his tarnished reputation.

Saloon entertainer Vermilion O'Toole and her former partner in crime Newt Cole escape from a train ride to prison and hide out in logging town Timberline. Meanwhile, the three sons of widower Will Hall come to town in search of a wife for their dad. Vermilion needs to lay low to escape the marshal, so she accepts the boys' offer to visit pioneer community Pine Grove. Once there, she annoys local Mrs. Grundys but eventually starts to fit in.