Eager to take advantage of a new oil boom, "Lucky" Conlon leaves his gas station and diner for Texas, with his wife Helen's blessing. In Texas, Lucky wins enough money in roulette to lease a parcel of land, and he and his friend "Smiley" begin drilling. Julia Frayne, whom Lucky met while gambling, turns out to be the daughter of oil tycoon Tom Frayne, who is eager to buy out the leases of the growing number of independent drillers, called "wildcatters," in order to hold a monopoly on the local oil fields.