When the owner of Oregon's largest cattle ranch, The Four Arrows, is shot by his horse in a freak accident, Royal Leckner suddenly finds himself charged with teaching the owner's mentally retarded son to take over management of the ranch. The son, Leviticus Perrault, comes as part of an unmatched set, which includes Toofer, a man split between bickering Confederate and Union personalities; Tommy Two Hearts, half-white, half-Indian, and half-paralyzed; and Lou(ella), an idiot savant. With the help of some cowhands and an uppity lady accountant, Royal and his crew try to run the ranch despite the connivings of the entire county.