In the Big Sur, California, frontier, cattle rancher Zandy Allan heads to town with two horses to collect his mail order bride, Hannah Lund. Although Hannah is beautiful, Zandy is displeased that she is older than she advertised; however, Hannah assures him that she can still bear children and swears she is not a liar. After a $2 wedding, the couple returns to Zandy’s remote homestead, where Zandy violently rapes her, claiming that he is justified now that they are husband and wife. The next day, Zandy is in a good mood until Hannah asserts house rules, ordering him to wash his hands and remove his hat at the breakfast table. She complains about his squalid living conditions and vows to create order, but Zandy refuses to change and a fight ensues. Sometime later, Zandy chastises Hannah for not producing a son, then heads home to dine with his surly father, Pa Allan, and younger brother, Mel. When Zandy complains about his sullen wife, Ma Allan suggests he plant a garden for her and warns that Pa has not set a good example. Returning home, Zandy finds Hannah with a visitor, Maria Cordova, who wishes to seduce Zandy. As Maria leaves rejected, Hannah serves her husband dinner on a table decorated with wildflowers and he surprises her with a compliment. Hannah suggests they get to know each other after a month of silence and Zandy undresses her, claiming that she is his first lover. After they make love, Hannah reveals that she is frightened of being impregnated with a “rape-child” because such offspring are born single-minded. Sometime later, Zandy is delighted to watch from afar as Hannah learns to ride a horse and their affection grows stronger. One day, Zandy goes after a bear with his shotgun, but the animal retaliates, leaving him injured. Locals Bill Pincus and Songer bring Zandy home and tend to his wounds with Hannah, then invite the couple to a barbeque party. Later, Hannah claims she is pregnant, but Zandy disbelieves her, lamenting that he will never have a son because she is old and barren. On the day of the barbeque, Hannah curls her hair and wears a red dress to please Zandy, but he pushes her head into a water trough and demands that she dress plainly. At the party, Hannah meets the Allan family and Maria announces that she will be married in one week, hoping to spark Zandy’s jealousy. Despite appearing disinterested in Maria, Zandy later succumbs to her seduction and Hannah spies them cavorting in the barn. In the morning, a sailboat arrives with supplies, including vegetable seeds that Hannah hides in her trunk. Meanwhile, local Frank Gallo offers to sell Zandy a herd of cattle and invites him to his ranch. Hannah returns to the homestead alone and plants a garden. When Zandy comes back, the vegetables are nearly grown and Hannah is visibly pregnant, but Zandy complains that she has ruined his home. Refusing to allow her husband to run his new cattle through the garden, Hannah stands in the way and is nearly trampled. Ma Allan tends to the ailing woman and scolds her son for his abuse. Later, Ma reports that Hannah wants to leave Zandy because he was with Maria, but Zandy argues that his wife is delusional. As Zandy attempts to leave his wife and mother, his horse refuses to climb uphill and topples over. Zandy then takes a sailboat to San Francisco, California, where he encounters novelties such as wood-burning stoves, tailored suits and homosexual men. He returns home well dressed and bearing gifts, fearing that Hannah miscarried, but she reports that it is too late for children to be awake. Hannah refuses to follow orders and enrages her husband; however, he admits to his affair with Maria and vows to mend his marriage. When Zandy presents Hannah with the new stove, she introduces him to his infant son. As he gloats over the baby, she surprises him again with the boy’s twin sister.