En un valle perdido entre las montañas, viven los Tolliver y los Falin, dos familias enemistadas que mantienen durante generaciones una guerra abierta e incesante. Se trata de un odio atávico, heredado, sin que ninguna de las partes conozca ni remotamente el oscuro motivo que originó la sangrienta confrontación.
Jed is a hillbilly in love with pretty Emmy Lou who is forced into marriage with her dreadful cousin Aaron. Jed interrupts the marriage and Aaron is accidently shot. Jed stands trial for the murder but is acquitted when almost everyone admits to the murder.
June Tolliver is a Kentucky mountain girl whose family is feuding with the Falins. But their differences are temporarily put on hold when revenue officer John Hale (Antonio Moreno) comes around. He falls in love with June and sends her to the city to get an education. When she returns and the feud breaks out once again, June tries to become a peacemaker between the two families.
An orphan boy from the Kentucky hills joins the Union Army and rescues his adopted family from Morgan's raiders. He learns his real identity when he returns after the war.
