A Deputy Sheriff with a talent for creating life-like sketches; a sixteen-year-old boy unsure of his future; and a stranger purporting to be the young man's real father, intersect with the disappearance of Tommy Harrison from the home of his legal guardian.

Jake Mackey arrives in Lordsburg, New Mexico in a bright red 1907 Matheson Touring car. He stops at the Sheriff's office to inquire about the Hamilton family. When Deputy Malcolm McGregor tells him Suzanne and Peter Hamilton were murdered in 1905 by the Silver Gang, Mackey asks about "Thomas." McGregor tells Mackey that Tommy and his sister are alive and living across the street with their legal guardian, Agatha Nelson, a seamstress. Malcolm, suspicious of Mackey's long, apparently rehearsed soliloquy and motives, sketches his face and waits for the Sheriff to arrive.

In the early morning hours of May 31, 1907, Jake Mackey stealthily enters Agatha's tailor shop and goes upstairs to find Tommy awake. He tells the boy he is his real father, born from a years-long affair with Suzanne, his mother. He convinces Tommy to go with him to California, where they can establish a new life. By the time Agatha discovers that Tommy is missing, he and Jake have already entered Arizona and are on their way to Casa Grande.

Sheriff Kirby sends Wanted posters, using his deputy's sketch, to police agencies in three states. He learns Mackey is wanted in Oklahoma for stealing mining equipment. He contacts his predecessor, William Riley, now a special investigator for The Symington Agency in Santa Fe, along with his wife, Cynthia, a senior detective. In 1905, they were instrumental in taking down The Silver Gang and finding a guardian for Tommy and Sally. Cynthia, five months pregnant, and Will arrive in Lordsburg and speculate Mackey is headed west. They develop a plan to intercept him in Yuma before he and Tommy cross into California.

In Arizona, Tommy tells Mackey he's made a mistake and wants to go home. Jake promises him a train ticket when they get to Yuma. But the Matheson has already broken down twice, delaying their trip by days. Thanks to Deputy McGregor's sketch, the two are spotted in Tucson and Casa Grande. This gives Will and Cynthia a chance to catch up to them in Yuma by taking their car onboard the train.

Weary from the Matheson's mechanical problems, the blazing heat, and Tommy's continual sarcasm, and derogatory remarks about his cowardice in not defending his mother against his brute of a father, Jake lets his guard down.

Does Mackey's mishaps and inattention lead to his arrest and Tommy's rescue? Follow Will and Cynthia Riley as they doggedly pursue each lead in order to bring Tommy Harrison home.