Native son returns from school in Spain to California in 1855 and finds corrupt politicians stealing land from old California families. He becomes a sort of Robin Hood in order to fight them.
Hanley shoots a man and then frames Bill Roberts. Being the Judge he then holds court planning to hang Bill but Bill's friends effect his escape. Andy tries to lead Hanley astray by misleading him as to Bill's location. But Bill changes plans and Hanley catches up with him and this leads to the showdown.
When Sundown wins a horse race he is paid with a deed to a ranch. Arriving at the ranch he finds the Prestons already living there. They bought it from the fake land agent Taggart who then frames Sundown for murder.
Jack rides into trouble when he meets up with Bill Meeker and his outlaw gang. Rescued from the gang's clutches by Don carlos, he joins forces with Carlos and with the help of Lolita who learns of the gang's next raid, they go after the culprits.
After deceitful Indian agent Grat Bandas has his men shoot Brother Van, gunfighter Linc Prescott saves the peaceful circuit rider and agrees to help him put a stop to Bandas's plans to start an Indian war and grab their land for himself. Meanwhile, Prescott takes a shine to the daughter of a local rancher.
Montana ranch owner Cyrus Bigbee sends his foreman, Gene Autry, and Rawhide Buttram to his Canadian timber land to stop the marriage of his daughter Sandy to Todd Markey, whom he dislikes. Sandy wants to turn the property into a dude ranch, with Carolina Cotton and the Cass County Boys (Fred S. Martin, Jerry Scoggins and Bert Dodson) among the entertainers, and runs up against local timbermen who want it for cutting timber. When a Mountie is murdered, with suspicion pointing to Todd, Gene finds the real culprit and brings peace to the area.
Like 1940's Melody Ranch, the 1941 Gene Autry vehicle Down Mexico Way was designed as a "special", to be promoted separately from Autry's regular B-western series as an A-picture attraction. The story gets under way when a pair of con artists, Gibson (Sidney Blackmer) and Allen (Joe Sawyer), breeze into the town of Sage City claiming to be movie producers. The two scoundrels promise to film a movie in the little burg on the condition that the townsfolk pony up the necessary production fees.