It's oil boom time in Oklahoma, and Lena Doyle (Faye Dunaway), a hard-bitten, cyncial feminist has a fight on her hands. The big oil companies don't like the fact that she's working a potentially profitable wildcat rig. Reluctantly, Lena must accept the aid of her estranged father Cleon Doyle (Sir John Mills), and Noble Mason (George C. Scott), the man he hires to help. The three form an unlikely team: Lena hates men, Mason is out for himself, and Lena's father is trying to make up for a lifetime of neglecting his daughter. But together, they take on the big guys and put up a terrific fight.