The road from Louisiana to the L Bar Ranch on the Bosque River, Texas is a long and dangerous one, but for Earl Lamar, recently discharged sergeant from the First Texas Confederate Cavalry, it's the only way home.

In June 1866, Texas struggles to recover from the conclusion of the War between the States. Though cattle aren't worth much in Texas, other places clamor for beef, and the Goodnight-Loving trail opens that summer to sell cattle to the U.S. government looking to feed reservation Indians. Earl Lamar, owner of the L Bar Ranch, decides to add two hundred head from his own cattle herd to Charles Goodnight's first drive to the Pecos River.

With gold in his pocket, Earl sets his sights on returning home to meet his new son Ralph, but trouble is brewing in Texas, and Meridian and Bosque County won't be left out. Rustlers, bushwhackers and carpetbaggers threaten the stability and future of Earl's ranch. A ruthless banker and his gang put Earl and his cowboys out of commission, then kidnap their women and children. Little do they realize Earl and his men are indeed alive, if not well, and have every intention of rescuing their families.