Detailed synopsis:
While sleeping peacefully under a tree, the Virginian is awakened by the sound of stealthy footsteps. As he reaches for his rifle a shot is fired and a bullet pierces the ground nearby. He turns to see six men bearing down on him with guns. One of the men tells him he is being taken to appear before Judge Hobbs, the hanging judge. Judge Hobbs’ "courtroom" is a saloon and the sooner the trial is over, the sooner everyone can have a drink. The Virginian tries to explain that he is the foreman of Shiloh Ranch near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, and it can be confirmed by Colonel Allen Mackenzie. Although the judge has heard of Shiloh Ranch and the Colonel, he refuses to believe the Virginian’s story. Instead, he asks young Rem Garvey to identify the prisoner and Rem states emphatically "He’s Boss Cooper!" a gunfighter who hires out to cattlemen to shoot rustlers. Rem claims the Virginian killed his father, who was not a rustler but was an innocent farmer. The
Virginian protests his innocence but Judge Hobbs takes more "evidence" from Rem and sentences the Virginian to be hanged-- immediately!

The stunned and frightened foreman is taken outside by the mob and a rope is thrown over a beam outside the hotel. As the Virginian is brought up on horseback
and a noose is put around his neck, the judge brags about his hanging "expertise." The Virginian asks for a chance to say his last words and as Judge Hobbs
laughingly turns to the crowd to mock his prisoner, the quick-thinking foreman loops his tied hands around the judge’s neck, announcing that they will hang
together unless the judge gives him back his gun. Then, aiming his gun at the judge’s head, the Virginian demands to be cut loose and escapes with several
people in hot pursuit. That night, the Virginian appears on the doorstep of the widow Garvey to ask her more about Boss Cooper, the man who killed her husband. She argues that HE is Boss Cooper, but he presses her for a description of the man she saw. She admits that it was her son Rem who saw the killer and not herself, and offers the Virginian coffee. He sits at her table and while he closes his eyes to rest, she pulls a gun from a drawer. He tries to convince her of his innocence by explaining that a killer would not come to her house and sit at her table. She seems to believe him and tells him what direction the killer came from. As he rides away, she sobs in grief and frustration.

In the morning, Mrs. Garvey is serving breakfast to her sons Rem and Dee. She and Rem ask Dee to stay and help run the place but he says he can’t. He makes derogatory remarks about his father’s drinking, and excuses why he can’t stay. Unable to keep her secret any longer, she tells him of the Virginian’s visit and which direction he went. The Virginian rides into Hellerton and comes into the local saloon looking for information. He’s introduced to Myra, a saloon girl, and buys her a drink. When he announces he’s looking for his "friend" Boss Cooper, Myra leaves the saloon and goes upstairs, and the bartender expresses fear. He says he doesn’t know Boss Cooper, but he’s sure the gunfighter did not come through town. He tells the Virginian to talk to the sheriff. The sheriff is enjoying a big lunch and is annoyed at being interrupted by the Virginian. After an exchange of angry and sarcastic words, he tells the Virginian that he heard Boss Cooper had been there "going to and coming from" a job, and that it’s likely he visited Myra. The Virginian returns to the saloon and confronts the lying bartender, who tells him it’s better to be safe than sorry. "I’ve known men who were both." says the foreman in reply.

The Virginian finds Myra in her room taking a bath. He hands her a robe and tells her to get out of the tub or he’s going to pull the plug, then turns away to give her privacy. He insists that she tell him where to find Boss Cooper and she says she will if he’s ready to die. She directs him to a shack at the edge of town. When the Virginian goes there he finds the shack is empty but hears someone approaching. A shot is fired through the window and the Virginian returns the fire hitting his mark. It’s the bartender and he’s been wounded in the shoulder. The bartender tells the Virginian that he tried to kill him because he’s afraid Boss Cooper will retaliate by burning down his saloon. So the Virginian returns to Myra’s room for an explanation of why she set him up to be killed, and finds her crying. She insists it was the bartender’s idea, but then she says she loves Boss Cooper and doesn’t want him killed. As the Virginian is prying the truth out of Myra, the Garvey brothers ride into town. They force the reluctant sheriff to tell them where their prey is. Meanwhile, Myra tells the Virginian that Boss Cooper is married and has a ranch outside a ways, on the Little Missouri. Suddenly she becomes fearful and concerned that the Virginian might be killed. The foreman tenderly
tells her he’ll come back through town to show her he is still alive. Just then the Garveys arrive and the Virginian exits quickly out Myra’s window. But Dee Garvey guesses that Myra knows where he’s going and turns threateningly to get the truth from her.

The next day the Virginian cautiously approaches the ranch Myra told him about. He’s welcomed by a pretty young woman who says she is Daniel Cooper’s wife.
She invites him inside to wait for her husband. Meanwhile, the Garveys are closing in on him. They find his campsite from the night before and Dee Garvey wonders why would Boss Cooper set up night camp if he was so close to his home? But-- he pushes the thought aside and continues to follow the Virginian’s trail. While the Virginian is waiting for Cooper to show up, Mrs. Cooper prattles on about her wonderful husband and what a good provider he is. She tells the Virginian she’s expecting a baby and that Daniel is going to stop traveling to sell harnesses soon. The Virginian feels bad that she doesn’t know the truth about her husband’s real occupation and tells her it’s the first time he heard of a rancher selling harnesses. As she chatters on, Cooper returns home. He spots the Virginian’s horse and knowing someone has tracked him down he cuts down the washline as a reason to send his wife outside. Once she’s gone to fix it, he takes the Virginian’s gun and admits to being Boss Cooper. He thanks the Virginian for not saying anything to Nellie, but tells him he has to kill him anyway. He removes the bullets from the Virginian’s gun and gives it back to him so as not to arouse his wife’s suspicion.

Nellie returns with a basket of wash which the Virginian takes from her. She remarks how nice Daniel’s friend is, and expresses the wish that more people would visit. The Virginian says "Don’t worry; there’ll be others along after I’m gone." They enjoy dinner and exchange pleasantries. Then Daniel says he wants to show his friend where he’s building their new house before he goes back to town. As they ride, Cooper tells the Virginian he’s "sick to death of killing, you’re the last." He plans to settle down to domestic life. Soon after, Rem and Dee Garvey arrive at the homestead. Rem expresses fear that Cooper might kill them, but Dee presses him to continue and make Cooper’s wife a widow just like Cooper did to their mother. The Virginian and Cooper continue to talk about Cooper’s profession. The Virginian brings up Niles Garvey. Cooper tells him Garvey was drunk and didn’t have a gun, two things that bothered him about his victim, but he
insists Garvey was a rustler. As they ride under some trees, the Virginian shoves Cooper from his horse and gallops away, but Cooper shoots him off his
horse. The Virginian scrambles to hide and from somewhere in the trees he taunts Cooper and tries to find out who hired him to kill Niles Garvey. He tells him that Judge Hobbs tried to hang him in a case of mistaken identity. While Cooper is trying to figure out where the Virginian is hiding, the foreman drops down out of a tree onto the gunman, knocking him down with a punch and taking his gun. But a voice from behind says "Drop your gun, Cooper." It’s Dee Garvey!

The Virginian tries to convince the Garvey brothers who the real Boss Cooper is, but they don’t believe him. The foreman proposes they all return to the
cabin and let the wife identify the real Boss Cooper. To protect his wife from the truth, Cooper admits to Dee Garvey that he is the gunfighter and
that Rem hired him to kill their father. Dee is visibly shaken by the truth and Rem tries to convince his brother that what he did was right. Suddenly the young man takes charge saying he’s going to kill Cooper and the Virginian. But Cooper grabs his gun and is gut shot by the boy, who then turns and runs away. The Virginian wounds Rem, then tries to help Cooper, who is dying from his wound. He asks the Virginian to bring him home. Near the cabin, Cooper falls from his horse as his wife comes outside. With his last breath, he tries to tell his wife that he’s not the man she thinks he is. The Virginian watches sadly from a respectful distance as Nellie tearfully tells her husband she knows the real Dan Cooper and that he is good; then the gunfighter dies in her embrace. （See here ）