A down-and-out silver miner raising a son, self-made oilman Daniel Plainview has a voracious appetite for oil, and it turns him into a California tycoon in the early years of the 20th century. Getting the oil from the ground is an intensely physical process that later broadens into Plainview's equally indomitable urge to control land and power. Along the way, Plainview deals with a mighty derrick fire, a visit from a long-lost brother, the ongoing involvement of Plainview's poker-faced adoptive son, and Plainview's rivalry with Eli Sunday, the local preacher.