On the Texas-Mexican border during the pre-Civil War era, "Thirty-Thirty" Martinue, with his Lazy R spread, and Josiah Zepeda and his Boxed X ranch, are drawn into an almost inevitable generations-long range war over control of the huge expanse of scrub land outside Brownsville, Texas.

During a cattle drive to Kansas, Thirty-Thirty's young son, Red Martinue, meets the beautiful Celeste Kalinec, a professional singer in a Dodge City saloon, and immediately falls in love with her. She leaves her much-older husband, who's been abusing her, and returns with the young man to Texas. Celeste sets up house with Red in the ranch country, but ultimately becomes dissatisfied with the heat, hard work, and lack of social interaction.

Under pressure from his pretty wife, Red finally sells his half of the Lazy R to the Zepedas, and moves into town, and there he and his wife become successful business entrepreneurs. However, Duncan Zepeda, Josiah's son, wants Celeste for his own. The two old men and their two younger heirs finally face off in a classic six-gun confrontation on Main Street, settling the ancient feud once and for all.

A great action- and romance-packed saga of the Old West: it doesn't get much grittier than this!