Arizona Sweepstakes

Coot Cadigan is the archetypal desert wanderer, a man whose rugged sensibilities are ill-suited for the smog and artifice of the big city. When his travels take him to San Francisco, he falls into the orbit of Stuffy McGee, a small-time grifter who survives by staging elaborate, fraudulent pugilistic matches for the amusement of gullible tourists. The charade turns into a nightmare when a bystander is killed during one of these mock brawls, and Coot—the outsider with the honest face—is conveniently framed for the deed. Forced into a desperate escape, Coot flees back to the safety of the Arizona brush, but he doesn't go alone; he becomes the reluctant guardian of Stuffy's three abandoned children. The narrative culminates in the high-stakes Arizona Sweepstakes, a horse race where the prize money represents the only hope for Colonel Savery, the father of Coot’s beloved, to prevent his ranch from falling into the hands of predatory creditors.