Hank Lloyd and "Red" Strayson steal a $50,000 payroll, but are killed in an auto accident on the way to the Pinecrest fishing resort to meet job mastermind Gil Martin and his henchman Joe. The Highway Patrol impounds the wreck, but Gil and Joe steal it from the impound garage, recover the stolen money, and conceal the wreck in the brush near their fishing cabin. When Officer Dorsey finds the wreck, Dan Mathews and Sergeant Johnson decide to question some of the nearby fishermen. While questioning Gil and Joe, Dan notices that Joe's jeep has paint marks that weren't there previously and surmises that it was used to tow the wreck. Gil and Joe's unsuccessful attempt to escape vindicates Dan's hunch.
Small-time racketeer Vince Garrow is found murdered and investigation reveals that he was providing information to crime expose writer Sam Dahlquist. Dan Mathews deduces that Dahlquist may know the killer's identity and orders an intensive search for the reporter. Racketeer Jake Mallek, the subject of Dahlquist's article, learns that the reporter often does his writing at a remote cabin in the Silver Canyon mountain resort area and he sends his henchmen Greer and Yeager to kill him. Dan and Sergeant Walters finally learn Dahlquist's whereabouts from his daughter Joyce. When they arrive, they have only seconds to prevent Greer and Yeager from setting the cabin ablaze with Dahlquist trapped inside.
