The story begins in Missouri, where father and son loose the wife and mother during the birth of the second child and decide to sell off and take a covered wagon west in search of their destiny. Unfortunately, the father doesn't survive the rigors of frontier travel and succumbs to consumption not far into the journey leaving the boy with the awkward ancestral name; Azro Bartholomew Carter to fend for himself as he continues the journey on his own.
Misfortune and a brutal encounter with a drunken frontier bandit results in (Bart) mortally wounded, robbed of most of his possessions and left for dead. Not a moment too soon, he is rescued by a frontier family embarking on their own trek across the country as a member of a wagon train spots the lifeless body. The consequences of the malicious attack by the drunk leaves the protagonist badly scarred, most noticeably on his face. He ends up with lasting ties with the frontier family and more notably, with their naive daughter who was instrumental in finding him half dead on the trail and nursing him back to health.
Lives and situations change as Bart joins a cattle drive traversing the Wild West and the wallflower daughter goes back east for formal training as a schoolteacher. They both have their coming of age struggles and triumphs. She becomes an amazingly beautiful woman and the cowboy becomes a kind of western legend with his feats of bravery with Indians, rustlers and bandits. The Man Called Scar casts a long shadow especially after he grows into his muscular 6 foot 4 inch frame and fears no one.
