The drovers of Circle K ranch have to drive the herd of beautiful longhorn cattle five hundred miles northwest if they hope to make it to the next year. Toby Bishop, a jack-of-all-trades and drifter, will have to work with the mixed group of drovers, whether they are white, black, Hispanic, lifelong cowboys, drifters, or shamed preachers. As they go north, Bishop finds himself tested: physically by the rigors of the trail; and mentally, by the grim memories evoked by violence.