As the Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma opens for settlement, drifter and cowboy Donald Carver aims to stake his claim on the old Half Diamond H ranch. But rivalries run deep in the dying days of the Old West, and Carver soon finds himself at odds with the shady mayor of Oval Springs and his cronies.

When murder enters the mix, Carver realizes he'll have to clean up the corrupt county seat himself before he can settle down. But even as he plans his future on a prosperous farm, the wild in Carver still calls to him. Will he embrace his tumbleweed ways, or can the steadfast affection of a schoolteacher convince this roving cowboy to finally hang up his hat?