In 1867, young trail hand Glenn Taggert stops on the Pecos River and finds more than water; he finds a dream. In the wild country between the Devils and Pecos Rivers, he stakes his future on a vast cattle ranch, teaming up with Gail Russel, a sharp railroad land agent and banker's daughter. Together, they fight to build the Longhorn Ranch out of tents, wild longhorns, new water wells, and the coming railroad.
Floods, drought, market swings, and men who want their land all threaten what they've built. A brutal dry spell forces Glenn to burn prickly pear to keep his herd alive-and a deep well drilled to save the cattle strikes something unexpected in the limestone below: oil.
As Glenn's son Dan grows up in the saddle and beside the drill rigs, the Taggerts are pulled into the early Texas oil boom, where hard choices, family loyalty, and a changing West will decide the fate of the Longhorn Ranch.