"Ryker" opens with a dramatic plea: "Your brother Tom has been hurt. He'll never walk again. I think you ought to come and do your share." With these words from Callie Ryker, Tom's wife, Jake Ryker's freedom came to an end. He would be forced to take on the responsibility of a cattle ranch he had never wanted, to deal with a brother and sister-in-law he could not abide. Jake Ryker, drifter, ends up journeying across New Mexico and Texas in search of a cattle herd with which to stock the failing Circle R Ranch, a tall order for a man riding alone.