In 1910 Wyoming, Elinor, a widow, and her seven-year old daughter Jerrine travel by train to a remote Montana ranch where Elinor has a job working as a housekeeper for Clyde Stewart, a reserved Scottish rancher.[5][6] The ranch is a lonely place and the only other woman nearby is an elderly German widow, Mrs. Landauer.
After seeing the beauty of the Montana countryside, Elinor becomes determined to file a claim; however, she can not afford to build a house on her new land. Clyde agrees to build her a house if she marries him.
The new family faces hardship during the winter when they run low on money and hay for the animals. Elinor becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby boy. However, he dies of a fever several weeks later. By the end of the winter, Clyde has lost half of his herd. Elinor refuses to give up and they decide to stay and rebuild the herd.
In 1980, the film was featured as a "Buried Treasure" (a film that received little attention during its initial run)[9] by film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel on an episode of the TV show, Sneak Previews, (the latter rated the film as one of the best films of 1981).[10]