Jesse Meeker and Riley Fourkiller establish the first ranches along Osage Creek in northwest Arkansas, where they raise horses and mules. Jesse helps Captain Randolph Marcy blaze the 1849 California Trail and chases the murderers of Lieutenant Harrison, grandson of President Harrison. Back home, the family has to deal with nightriding hoodlums and after an attack on their home, Jesse sells out and moves his family back to the Village on the Middle...

Baseball, brush popping cows, burglaries, and a big earthquake all work together to keep Tucker moving as he tries to retrieve stolen cattle and avenge the murder of his father. He returns after an absence of two years to find his sweetheart married to his best friend and himself falsely accused of murder.