In Heaven's Gold, we met Wilson Young, legendary bank robber from Texas. In Southwest of Heaven, we meet Young's son, Willis. Years have passed, and now it's 1924. Willis Young is back from France, a broken man. As a World War I flying ace, he has seen enough killing and destruction to last him a lifetime. He has lost his zest for living. Upon his return from the war, Willis is reunited with his former mechanic-now a prosperous wildcat oil driller. The two set out on a crazy scheme to drill for oil on Willis's land-two hundred thousand acres of the most worthless soil in the hell on earth that is West Texas. But then the well strikes water-and Willis undergoes a transformation that changes not only his life, but the lives of everyone around him.