Cougar, named for his temperament when he got into a fight, travels from Wisconsin to the timber fields in Washington at the turn of the century and then to Northern Alberta with his son to carve out a new life for themselves. Odilon Gusal comes from Oklahoma also looking for land to build a life with his family Another man who will become involved with this family is Billy Jarvis who escapes an entanglement with the law in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan.