Set in the Midwest wilderness after the end of the Civil War, Thomas Dawson (John Wayne John Wayne) starts from scratch. With the help of his adopted son Matthew (Montgomery Clift Montgomery Clift) and helper Groot, he takes 14 years of hard work to build his own ranch on a prairie in Texas. Because of the economic depression in the south, Thomas decided to sell more than 10,000 cattle in the pasture to Missouri in the north. He gathered his men and made full preparations, and the western cowboys began the journey of thousands of miles with a large number of cattle. This difficult and dangerous journey made the cowboys more and more tired, but also made the rancher Thomas more stubborn and tough, gradually losing hearts and minds. Finally, Matthew took the lead in the resistance, and the other cowboys followed suit. After leaving the wounded Thomas in place, the army set off in the other direction. Can this journey of driving cattle through thousands of miles be successful?