The Riflemen, in one way, is a love story about two boys, Jake Garrett and Johnny Grubbs and their childhood sweethearts. They meet their wives in the first grade, who are identical twin. The story takes Jake and Johnny through the horrific Civil War. Their stories tell some of the historical parts of the war and shows much of the struggles each boy endures during the war. After the war, they come home to find their parents have disappeared and their ranches in the hands of a ruthless cattle baron, Gardner Ware and his wife Emma, who frame them for murder. Not able to clear their name they are on the run. They do marry their childhood sweethearts and their new struggle is shared with them. The go to Wyoming where they make a grubstake by guarding payrolls for the mines. This leads to collecting a large reward for bringing down a gang of train robbers and collecting the bounty. Only knowing ranching they use the money to buy land along the Yuba River in California so they can sell cattle and mules to the miners.