Kathryn wants out. She barely gets out of the Civil War unscathed as her home and land were burned to the ground. Looking for a new life, she answers a mail order bride advertisement. Upon her arrival, however, she meets a formidable foe in her new mother-in-law.

Carl has aspirations of being a mayor and father, but his mother wants him to marry the women of her choice. Can he go against his mother's wishes and experience the life with Kathryn he always wanted?