Adam and Charles Trask grow up in the shadow of their father, Cyrus. Cyrus prefers Adam, inciting jealousy in his younger son. Adam is signed up for the cavalry, while Charles works on the family farm. Reuniting years later, the brothers live in peace until a beautiful woman nearly beaten to death arrives on their front porch. Adam nurses her back to health and falls blindly in love. But Cathy hides a cruel past. Adam and Cathy marry and have twin boys. Cathy soon deserts the family, showing up later as "Kate," the madam of an upscale brothel. Adam's sons have a relationship that mirrors his own. Adam's business venture fails and depletes the family fortune. One son seeks out his mother, who has been long assumed dead.