Dallas Winston rolls into Tulsa from New York sometime in 1959. The same year, he meets Buck Merrill, a lanky wanna-be cowboy running his old man's bar- and his cousin. Over the next few years, as he establishes his friends, enemies, and reputation, one fact becomes clear. Tulsa never saw him coming.

Like most greasers, Tim Shepard has better things to do than sit around all day at Will Rodgers High. But like all greasers, luck is never on his side. The same guy known throughout Tulsa for being three steps ahead finds himself thrown in the middle of the unexpected.