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In her Saloon the ‘Polka’, Minnie is the female center of a community in the middle of nowhere, which consists almost exclusively of gold seekers. In addition to card games and entertainment, the men who are plagued by homesickness find some warmth in her. Sheriff Jack Rance is in love with her and thinks he has good chances. However, he sees this diminish when Johnson, an old acquaintance of Minnie, enters the Saloon, and it soon becomes clear that both feel something for each other. In Minnie’s log cabin they declare their love for each other. A fierce snowstorm is raging outside and Johnson decides to spend the night in her cabin. However, it isn’t long before Sheriff Rance arrives to tell Minnie that Johnson is actually the infamous bandit Ramerrez who has come to steal the community’s gold. Johnson admits to Minnie that he is Ramerrez, but declares that he wants to improve his life for her sake. She decides to help him and when Rance comes to arrest Johnson she manages to lure him into a poker game with Johnson’s life at stake. With a little cheating she also manages to win. But the next day Johnson is discovered by a group of men. The community prepares for a lynching that is foiled by Minnie’s decisive action. She manages to keep the mob at a distance with her gun, but it is mainly out of respect and gratitude that they yield to her argument that one should not turn their backs on the sinner who wants to improve his life. Johnson and Minnie go into the big wide world together, looking for a happy future…