Presley plays Clint Reno, the youngest of the four Reno brothers, who stays home to take care of his mother and the family farm as older brothers Vance, Brett and Ray fight in the American Civil War for the Confederate Army. The family is mistakenly informed that eldest brother Vance has been killed on the battlefield. After four years of war, the brothers return home and find that Vance's former girlfriend Cathy has married Clint. Although Vance accepts this wholeheartedly ("We always wanted Cathy in the family"), the family has to struggle to reach stability with this issue. The subplot of unresolved passion carries the film; it is made clear from the outset upon the Reno brothers' return home that Cathy still loves Vance, although she is true to the younger Clint. Honor prevails for Vance, but jealousy turns Clint into an irrationally thinking rival for the love of the heroine.