It is California , during the years of gold-rush fever,1849-1850. Minnie runs a bar for the miners, mothering them, and caring for their spiritual welfare. Sheriff Jack Rance is in love with Minnie, but his affections are not returned. The miners are gathered playing cards when Ashby, the Wells Fargo Agent, arrives and tells Rance that he is following the trail of a notorious bandit, Ramerrez. A stranger, Dick Johnson (Ramerrez in disguise) enters, looking for a drink. He and Minnie recognize each other from having met many years before, and much to the Sheriff’s annoyance, she and the stranger dance together. The capture of one of Ramerrez’s accomplices is announced, and the robber is dragged into the bar. Recognizing Johnson/Ramerrez, he bluffs that he can lead the men to the bandit’s hideout and they all depart, leaving Minnie and Johnson alone. Learning that she alone guards the miners’ treasure of gold with her life, he abandons his original plan to rob the saloon and accepts Minnie’s invitation to her cabin for dinner.
