Orry Main, a heir to a Southern plantation, and George Hazard, the son of a Pennsylvania industrialist. See how their friendship grows and discovery of the women they will love for the rest of their lives.

After serving in the Mexican War, George falls in love with an Irish surgeon's daughter, and Orry meets secretly with Madeline.

As slavery is hotly debated, Virgilia Hazard becomes a prominent abolitionist; George and Orry form a partnership in a cotton mill.

Orry's (Patrick Swayze) evil sister Ashton (Terri Garber) plots revenge against George's (James Read) brother Billy (John Stockwell); Virgilia (Kirstie Alley) marries a slave (Georg Stanford Brown); Madeline (Lesley-Anne Down) confesses a shocking secret to Orry.

As civil war threatens the country, Orry and George suffer a rift in their friendship; Elkanah Bent learns about Madeline's secret.

As the outbreak of civil war becomes inevitable, Ashton plots to kill Billy; Orry and George attempt a reconciliation.