During the worst drought in memory gripping Southwest Texas, ranchers and farmers desperately search for water to keep their animals from dying and their crops from withering. As the only man with a waterhole that hasn't dried up, Edward Beaudine is in a position to demand almost anything he wants from his neighbors. Not satisfied with charging exorbitant rates, Beaudine is determined to use his new-found power to create an empire by buying up all the abandoned ranches in the region.