Naive Montana cowboy Duke Fergus (John Wayne) arrives in San Francisco and visits the notorious Barbary Coast, San Francisco, California. He becomes smitten with the lovely star attraction of the fanciest gambling hall, "Flaxen" Tarry (Ann Dvorak), the "Flame of the Barbary Coast". He gets talked into gambling against the owner (and Flaxen's lover), card sharp Tito Morell (Joseph Schildkraut). Predictably, Fergus gets cheated and loses all his money.