The Stuart family tries to cope with a changing society during the 1960s as Bobby lands his first movie role and becomes more involved with drugs.

Dan Winslow has always dreamed of going West and becoming a cowboy, but when he finally stakes his claim in the vast Wyoming prairie, he, and other small ranchers like young widow Hope Rogers, are forced to fight powerful cattle baron Silas Head, who wants to keep all the land for himself.

The four Kerrigan children, Duffy and her adopted siblings, who all come from different countries, accompany their father on a business trip to Australia, and encounter unexpected challenges in the Outback.

From the first rumblings of unrest and secession in the South, this dramatic saga follows the Rocklin family as they experience the intense emotions and spiritual struggles of the Civil War. As the nation is ripped apart, only to grow stronger, so also are the Rocklins. The family stands by helplessly as cousins Clay and Gideon Rocklin vie for the hand of beautiful Melanie Benton, whose choice starts the rejected suitor on a spiraling descent.