A wealthy Texas rancher, Bick Benedict, travels to Maryland to buy a horse, where he meets and marries the spirited Leslie Lynnton. Leslie moves to Texas with Bick to live at his family's large and remote ranch, Reata. The couple begins their life together, clashing and reconciling over their starkly different values and ideologies. Leslie struggles to adjust to the vast, barren beauty of the Texas landscape and the insular, often prejudiced rural society. Her progressive views on race and gender clash with the traditional perspectives of the local community, particularly that of Bick's elder sister, Luz, who runs the household with an iron fist.

Meanwhile, Jett Rink, an ambitious young worker on the ranch, secretly harbors feelings for Leslie while also displaying resentment towards the Benedicts' wealth and status. When Luz dies in a horse-riding accident, she bequeaths a small plot of land to Jett, giving him an unexpected opportunity to pursue his own dreams of wealth and power. This twist of fate sets up a complex rivalry between Jett and Bick, both vying for economic dominance in the shifting landscape of the Texas oil industry. As time passes, the tension between the characters escalates against the backdrop of their changing world, with the rise of the oil economy beginning to challenge the ranching lifestyle that Bick holds dear.