These Thousand Hills

Lat Evans proves his grit by busting a wild horse to win a job on a cattle drive. This victory marks the start of his dream to improve his station and own a ranch someday. The moment sets him on a path away from his father's failure toward his own ambitions.

On the drive, Lat is befriended by cowhand Tom Ping, and together they fantasize about a prosperous future. Lat is motivated by visions of ranch ownership and wealth, contrasting with the memory of his father dying broke. Their friendship seeds Lat's later decisions and loyalties.

In a Wyoming town saloon, Jehu challenges the cowboys to a race against his swift horse. Lat leads for most of the ride, but a blanket thrown at him causes a fall. Marshal Conrad intervenes and declares Lat the winner, preserving order and Lat’s reputation.

That night, Lat and his friends celebrate with Jen and Callie in the saloon and plan to quit the drive to hunt wolves for their hides. Lat drinks away his melancholy and visits Callie, where a childhood beating by his father over being alone with a girl surfaces. Callie’s empathy deepens their complex bond.

Lat seeks a loan to buy a ranch but Conrad refuses. Callie contributes her life savings to buy him land, which Lat uses as collateral to secure a loan from Conrad to purchase a herd. Tom becomes a partner, and a hard winter tests their early venture, yet Lat survives by feeding cattle with hay grown in the low lands.

As Lat’s fortunes rise, he begins to shun Callie in favor of Conrad’s niece Joyce. Tom reveals plans to marry Jen, prompting Lat to insult Jen as a tramp and causing rifts in their partnership. The change in Lat’s relationships signals a shift in loyalties.

Lat dines at Conrad’s and is approached by a banker who suggests he run for the school board. Callie bakes him a cake, while Jehu makes crude advances toward her. Joyce invites Lat to prove his respectability, and Lat confronts Callie, telling her there is no place for her in his future.

Lat soon marries Joyce and starts a family, while Jehu and Callie become lovers, setting up a complex web of loyalties and betrayals. The town’s relationships become entangled as Lat’s political ambitions begin to take shape. The personal conflicts foreshadow later tensions.

Lat decides to run for U.S. Senator, but Jehu and rancher Frank Chanault use the lure of votes to coerce him into joining a group of rancher vigilantes. The plot shifts from legal politics to illegal justice as they push toward a violent solution for horse thieves. Lat’s integrity is tested as fear and ambition collide.

The vigilantes corner the thieves at a mountain hideout and a gun battle erupts. The surviving rustlers surrender, and Lat is stunned to discover that Tom is among them. Tom confesses and accuses Lat of worshiping the tin god of money, deepening Lat’s guilt and strained loyalties.

Jehu sentences Tom to hang, and Lat protests that there should be a trial. Jehu knocks Lat unconscious and Tom is hanged before due process can be observed. The act devastates Lat and shakes his sense of justice.

Lat returns home to find a distress note from Callie delivered by Joyce. Despite Joyce’s jealousy, Lat feels indebted and determined to help Callie, signaling a turning point in his loyalties. The emotional weight of Callie’s plight begins to pull him back toward her.

Lat learns from Callie’s servant Happy that Jehu has savagely beaten her, fueling his resolve to confront the brutal rancher. He searches for Jehu, driven by a need to protect Callie and restore some balance to the town’s violence. The quest for justice becomes personal and dangerous.

Lat and Jehu clash in a street confrontation as the townspeople watch in consternation. Jehu aims his rifle at Lat, but Callie fires first, killing Jehu and ending his tyranny. The dramatic act redeems Callie and redefines Lat’s relationship with the town.

In the aftermath, Joyce forgives Lat, reaffirming their family’s future. Lat expresses his intention to testify at Callie’s trial, and Joyce gives her consent, acknowledging the debt he owes Callie. The film closes on a note of reconciliation and justice moving forward.