Shortly before the dust bowl, Isaac "Ice" Dunmire settles down on a ranch near Laramie, Wyoming with his family. His wife leaves him after she gives birth to nine sons, whom he raises on his own to be legendarily tough ranchers. Jaxon, the eldest, has to take things easier due to an injury and becomes a windmill salesmen, where he travels from town to town with a sample-sized windmill in his trailer bed. The Great Depression hits and they weather the period with expertise. Another family, the Tinsleys, settle nearby with far less experience. Mrs. Tinsley is incredibly anxious. On the journey over, while they cross a river, Mrs. Tinsley threw her infant daughter into the river. Then, as she saw what she'd done, she tried to jump in after the baby, but Mr. Tinsley held her back. Now, Mrs. Tinsley fears any harm that might befall her children. One of her children, Rasmussen, takes a passionate interest in the world and dreams of exploring. He leaves home at sixteen and they do not hear from him. One day, the Tinsleys receive a letter from a New York minister which informs them that Rasmussen has been in an auto wreck which left him severely wounded and mute. After he had regained some speech, he identified himself. Ras returns home injured and deformed. Ras' only joy is outings with his father. However, as his father becomes busy and can no longer take Ras in his wagon, he buys an old horse for Ras to ride. Ras disappears on the horse for days at a time. Word spreads that Ras is flashing women and masturbating on different farms. The Dunmires hear about this and Jaxon comes by, tries to sell the Tinsley's a windmill, and warns them that there are those who would want to cut off Ras's penis because of what he's done. Ras's father tells him that he has to stop. Ras soon falls ill, and, when he's in the bath, his father learns that Ras's penis has already been cut off by someone with a dirty knife, and Ras has severe gangrene. He blames his wife for not noticing this when he first fell ill.