The history between Ike’s family, the Wheelers, and David’s family, the Moons, extends back many years, beginning when one of the Wheelers sacrificed himself to save a Moon. The two families have lived closely ever since. When most of the constituents of both families were killed in the Civil War, David and Ike moved west, gradually building and priming the land for the Moons’ now-massive ranch. Ike frequently tells stories of the Moons’ history to Johnathan, David’s son. According to Ike, the Sussex Moons were the first to grow potatoes in England, and their line currently stretches to Johnathan and David on their Yellowstone ranch, the last Moons.

Although Ike lives with his twin children and partner, Em, on the ranch, David and his wife are separated. When she left him, she was more than happy to take the money he offered her in exchange for Johnathan’s custody. However, she keeps writing to David, asking if she can spend some time as her son’s guardian. Thoroughly repulsed by her, Ike advises David to refuse her wishes, and David agrees on the grounds that her lifestyle would kill a Moon. Even without a mother, Johnathan is raised and educated by Ike, who tells the children stories, teaches them to read, and helps them learn about the world. Like many others, Johnathan is taken with Ike’s musical and storytelling ability, but notes his apprehension to the modern world. When David first brings a car onto the ranch, Ike fiercely rejects any of the car’s benefits due to how it separates a man’s work with his land.

One night, Ike takes the children to visit “Moon Manor”, the ramshackle house he and David built during their first year at Yellowstone. Ike demonstrates his knowledge of the land and its plants to the children as they make their trek to the house. There, they swim in a nearby creek and eat, enjoying themselves. As they make their way home, Ike tells Johnathan the story of how David killed the infamous Rabbit Rustlers and used their bounty to fund the expansion and upkeep of the ranch. Despite the heroism David exhibited in the story, when Ike and the children arrive at home, they find the local doctor there as well. The doctor tells Ike David’s heart is failing. David’s last words are addressed to Ike, telling him to watch after the Moons. As David dies, Johnathan grows angry at the beautiful surrounding landscape for not turning more unpleasant to accommodate his father’s passing. When Em attempts to comfort Johnathan with platitudes, Ike bluntly tells the boy his father is dead.

That night, Ike shows Johnathan the Moon family’s ancestral scythe and soil they brought from Sussex. They bury David with some of the soil, and Ike runs the estate smoothly in David’s stead. Later, Johnathan’s mother, Kathy, interrupts Ike, his family, and Johnathan in their house’s kitchen. Upon her arrival, she declares Johnathan a Coniston, a member of her family. Ike objects, but Kathy is determined to raise her son in the city. Observing Ike’s dislike of Kathy, Johnathan also distrusts her. She tries to drag him away regardless, but Ike threatens to shoot her. Kathy doesn’t believe he will, but Ike kills her anyway and rushes the children upstairs. Once they are out of sight, Ike shoots himself to avoid being captured by the authorities. His family scrambles towards him, and Johnathan realizes how sacred land becomes when it is held with the price of blood.