The Nordholm family settles in the Dakota territory and founds a successful community, but young Orin Nordholm, Jr. has greater ambition. He is one of the first to drive cattle directly from Texas to Omaha, which leads to a partnership with butcher James Clafin in Chicago. Although Anna Nordholm, his mother, disapproves and his girlfriend, Selma Peterson, will not accompany him, Orin moves to Chicago, invents the refrigerated railroad car and starts a profitable meatpacking business. He marries Clafin's daughter Virginia, whose hatred of his business is a source of conflict between them. Virginia insists that their sons move in the best society, so she sends Paul to Oxford and urges Richard to marry Jennifer Clinton, a member of New York society. At a party in the Clinton's honor, Virginia announces that Orin will retire from the meat packing business to organize an art museum. She adds that Richard and Jennifer will marry and live in New York. This so angers Orin that he threatens to place Virginia in an insane asylum if she thwarts his plans. Eventually, his anger drives Virginia insane and she dies from a stroke. Years later, Richard and Jennifer's daughter Natalie is engaged to an impoverished English nobleman, Sir Phillip Ivor. Anna agrees to attend the wedding and meet her grandchildren for the first time, accompanied by Selma, the granddaughter of Orin's first love. Anna's prairie wit sees through her superficial family. Only Natalie's brother, Orin III, is genuinely interested in the old values and he and Selma become close friends. When scandal hits, Richard commits suicide and Phillip leaves Natalie at the altar. Before Orin dies, he asks Orin III to return to Dakota with Selma and Anna. He does this, taking Orin's body to be buried out west.