Zachary Scott stars as Sam Tucker in this story of a Texas sharecropper who decides, with the support of his wife Nona (Betty Fields), to buy a small piece of land and work for himself. The property they buy is rundown and with their young children, they must struggle to survive. A misanthropic neighbor, Devers (J. Carroll Naish), who grudgingly offers them the use of his well but refuses the milk they need when their son, Jot (Jay Gilpin), is dangerously ill, sets the tone for much that will follow.