Dashing legionnaire Rick O'Connell and Beni, his weasel of a companion, stumble upon the hidden ruins of Hamunaptra while in the midst of a battle in 1923, 3,000 years after Imhotep has suffered a fate worse than death; his body will remain undead for all eternity as a punishment for a forbidden love.
When Daniel Plainview - a ruthless oil prospector - learns of oil-rich land in California that can be bought cheaply, he moves his operation there and begins manipulating and exploiting the local landowners into selling him their property. Using his young adopted son H.W. to project the image of a caring family man, Plainview gains the cooperation of almost all the locals with lofty promises to build schools and cultivate the land to make their community flourish. Over time, Plainview's gradual accumulation of wealth and power causes his true self to surface, and he begins to slowly alienate himself from everyone in his life.