When a Midwest town learns that a corrupt railroad baron has captured the deeds to their homesteads without their knowledge, a group of young ranchers join forces to take back what is rightfully theirs. They will become the object of the biggest manhunt in the history of the Old West and, as their fame grows, so will the legend of their leader, a young outlaw by the name of Jesse James.
The origins, exploits and the ultimate fate of the James gang is told in a sympathetic portrayal of the bank robbers made up of brothers who begin their legendary bank raids because of revenge.
The gangs of Jesse James and Cole Younger join forces to rob the First National Bank in Northfield, Minnesota, but things do not go as planned.
The Younger brothers return to Missouri after the Civil War with intent to avenge the misdeeds of William Merrick, a crooked banker who has been buying up warrants on back-taxes and dispossessing the farmers.
Brothers who rode with a notorious outlaw gang led by Frank and Jesse James decide to go straight and try to get pardons so they can return to a law-abiding life.
An outlaw must decide whether to stick his neck out for an innocent man.
When Missouri farm boy Jesse James witnesses the lynching of his father by the Yankees, he forsakes his family's homestead to find his brother Frank, a soldier in Quantrill's Raiders, a renegade band of Confederates. Bent on revenge, Jesse begs to join the raiders.