With no market for his herd, the master of a vast cattle ranch and his son decide to head the first cattle drive over the now famous Chisholm Trail, past the Red River, into Missouri. The path is filled with hardship and the drive looks hopeless as the men struggle to prevail.

A plain, middle-aged married man, Richard Sherman sends his wife Helen and his young son Ricky off to vacation at the seashore in Maine during a sultry summer in New York City. They escape but he must remain behind in the heat, to make money. He sees them off at the train station, promising to eat properly, and neither smoke nor drink. He will be sensible, not play around as soon as his wife leaves like so many other men. That is until he meets his...