It is the 1870s in the picturesque community of Willow Creek, Missouri. To casual observers and westward-moving settlers, the town is a bustling, rural community. Beneath its quiet surface, however, ill feelings are beginning to fester between two of its citizens.

Hardworking farmer Samuel Sindell and his three sons already possess a large farm on which they grow crops and pasture herds. But Samuel is not satisfied and wants acreage belonging to the easygoing miller, Amos Becker. Samuel, who is undeterred by Amos's reluctance to sell, uses underhanded manipulation to acquire the land....