As the biggest high-stake poker game in the West begins, compulsive gambler turned homesteader, Meredith, is drawn into the game. With the entire family fortune at stake, he suffers a heart attack when delt a winning hand. Mary, his pluck penny-pinching, long-suffering wife, steps in. As she plays the hand, she assails her rivals with fortitude and guts. Each is transformed into a model of sensitivity. But a twist ending reveals Mary has had more than fortitude up her sleeve all along.