Life events brought J. D. Holloway, a self-taught horse trainer, back to the big city for a high-paid job with a real future. There he meets a just-retired old wrangler that had worked some sixty years for a historic, high-country Wyoming cattle ranch. After a long conversation about life on the ranch, he quits his job and heads for the high country. When he arrives at the ranch and offers to train horses for a bunk and meals, the ranch owner tells him he can stay and "play cowboy" for the season. After the fall roundup, the ranch would be sold. The hundred-year-old buildings, rustic setting, and the "playing cowboy" comment give him an idea to not only save the antiquated ranch but also possibly capture the heart of the ranch owner''s beautiful daughter.