Raised by Old Ned, a mountain man turned prospector, Bull remembers his father's advice to gain security by gaining wealth and power. He works as a Cavalry scout, then uses gambling and stock speculations to gain control of the Placer City Mine.

He builds the Rigel Corporation, a mining and agriculture empire, despite the antagonism of Walks-Like-Snake, a Ute Chief, and his own reluctance to change with the times.