A young widower named Sam Crockett returns from Kansas City to his small hometown in rural Texas, bringing with him his feisty grandfather and two young sons, Steve and Yoyo. He tries to make a go of the old family homestead but faces financial problems and pressures from his well-to-do neighbor, Rod Marshall. He also begins an on-again-off-again romance with Rod's sister-in-law, even though she's engaged to wed the town's doctor. Events come to head when Sam's grandfather suffers a stroke.
A pet steer, Sancho, is awkward to keep when it is full grown at the rancho, and he almost ruins a cattle drive. Sancho heads off toward home by himself, a journey of 1,200 miles, finding many obstacles along the way.