Clara Stone gives up a privileged life to be a teacher in Dabolt, a small town in the mountains of Kentucky. While adjusting to the landscape and culture, she falls in love with Leo Turner, who comes from a humble background. The jealousy of Alfred Beck, a wealthy logging baron, combined with Leo being drafted threaten the couple's future. As Leo experiences the brutality and carnage of World War I in the trenches of Europe, Clara endures hardship and death. After Leo watches his best friend, Godfrey Cooper, die on the battlefield and being wounded himself, he is discharged and returns home. The harsh reality of what occurred while he was away and what Clara has undergone test their souls and love. Together, they face peril as they experience revenge, sacrifice, and tragedy.