ABSTRACT
In 1851, Thomas Dunson (John Wayne) leaves behind a wagon train and Fen, the woman he loves, to start up his own herd of cattle. In the distance he sees the wagons attacked by Indians and knows Fen is dead. A boy, Matthew Garth (Montgomery Clift), escapes and together he and Dunson cross the Red River. Fourteen years later, having found land, they have built up the largest herd in Texas. But after the Civil War there is no market for beef in the south so Dunson decides to drive them north to the railroad at Missouri.
