From the very beginning Sam Stop was an enigma to the people living in Pony, Montana. Stop didn't look like a banker, dress like a banker, or act like a banker. So while there were some initial suspicions about Stop's background, people came to respect and then trust the reclusive founder of Pony's local bank. Soon the bank became the main depository for the assets of the Pony Consolidated Mining Company.

Then one day everything begins to change. Two eastern financiers appear in town and it seems as if they plan a long stay. The two bankers, Jasper Kennedy and Drago Widen, have decided to call in their loans to mine owner Ben Waldorf prematurely, and it soon becomes all too tragically clear that they have the methods and the manpower to do so.

Stop desperately tries to arrange refinancing for Waldorf, but his attempts are futile. The situation worsens until finally the town is in a state of siege. Then it becomes time for Stop to shed his banker's clothing and show the town his true colors.