Based on a true story, a successful but haunted riverboat gambler, named John J. Cozad attempts to leave his dangerous past behind by buying 40,000 acres of hay and founding a Utopian settlement with his wife and two sons in 1872 in Nebraska, not knowing the many threats and dangers that would follow him.

SYNOPSIS:

A former riverboat gambler facing death by consumption, John J. Cozad looks to start a new life with his wife Theresa and two young sons out West. After finally convincing his wife who would only consent to going West for the summer. They travel west to Nebraska purchasing 40,000 acres of hay land with plans to build a model community at the 100th Meridian. However, they face opposition from a ruthless Texas cattle baron name Print Olive who tries to run them off the land or worse. The Cozads persevere with the help of their new friends, railroad section foremen Jerry Costin and his family. John brings in Theresa's family from Virginia to improve their odds and settle the land as the greenhorn boys adapt at living in the West. But would he have to spend his gambling winnings to help the town survive? They work to build up a town from scratch, start a hotel, bring in settlers, and eventually try to convince politicians to consider moving the nation's capital there. John and the family actively have to hide his shady past as a gambler, a secret continuing to haunt him, threatening his grand plans for the future and his life.