George C. Scott stars as a sleazy, drunken roustabout who has no scruples, ambitions, or decency. Faye Dunaway co-stars as a mean-spirited lady who owns a small piece of land which features a towering hill upon which she has constructed a derrick to wildcat for oil. Dunaway grudgingly accepts Scott's assistance in helping her fend off the land-grabbing Jack Palance.