After his family is murdered in the 1880s, orphan Jeb Rand is brought up by the Callum family on their nearby horse ranch. Widow Callum does her best to make Jeb feel loved as he is growing up. While he has great affection for his foster-sister Thor, his relationship with her brother Adam is tenuous at best, especially when Jeb blames him for shooting a colt that he was riding. Jeb loses a coin flip with Adam, and becomes the designated family volunteer to fight in the Spanish-American War. Jeb returns a hero, but does not find happiness