Set in 1950's London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover.

A down-and-out silver miner raising a son, self-made oilman Daniel Plainview, whose voracious appetite for oil turns him into a California tycoon in the early years of the 20th century. Getting the oil from the ground is an intensely physical process that later broadens into Plainview's equally indomitable urge to control land and power. Along the way, Plainview deals with a mighty derrick fire, a visit from a long-lost brother, and the ongoing involvement...