Plot
In St. Louis, Missouri, on Lutie Cameron's wedding day, she receives a telegram from her fiancé, cattle rancher Col. Brewton, telling her to board the train for New Mexico to marry him in the small town of Salt Fork. The first person she meets in town is Brice Chamberlain, who warns her of likely unhappiness with Brewton, locally considered a tyrant.
At the ranch, Brewton takes her out to see the prairie. He runs his cattle on government-owned land and opposes homesteaders because he believes the Great Plains do not get enough rain to sustain farming.
Lutie persuades Brewton to allow a family of settlers onto the ranch. When she visits them, she is surprised to see Chamberlain, who rides with her on her way home and confesses his attraction to her. Lutie confesses her struggles to adapt to her new home and her husband's emotional distance. She gives birth to a daughter, Sara Beth.
During a blizzard, the settlers are alarmed by the sound of Brewton's cattle near their house. Fearful for his wheat crop, one man goes out of the house with his rifle, planning to scare off the cattle. When they stampede, he shoots and kills one of the cows. His pregnant wife then goes into the storm and loses her baby. Having lost their crop and baby, they are broken and concede the land to Brewton.
Brewton tells Lutie that he warned her the settlers faced severe challenges. Furious with him, Lutie decides to leave Salt Fork for a while and goes to Denver. While planning to return to St. Louis, she runs into Chamberlain. The two have a discreet affair, and Lutie returns to Brewton, where she gives birth to a boy named Brock.
Chamberlain lobbies for a Federal District Court in Salt Fork, and he wins election as its judge. Brewton believes that Chamberlain will decide in favor of settlers on "his" land. As he arms himself and his men to ward off the settlers, Lutie pleads with him to reconsider. They argue, and Brewton gets Lutie to confess to the affair with Chamberlain. She agrees to leave, but he refuses to let her take the children.
Back in St. Louis, she consults a lawyer. He says that if she testifies that Chamberlain is Brock's father, she could win custody of her son but lose custody of Sara Beth. Convinced that fighting would cause too much damage to her children, Lutie stays away. Chamberlain tries to get her to fight for Brock's custody so they can run away together as a family, but Lutie does not love him enough to marry him.
As the years pass, Brock endures taunts from townsfolk about his "real father.” During a card game, his opponent refers to Brock as "judge", referring to Chamberlain. Brock gets drawn into conflict and, when his opponent draws his pistol, Brock shoots him fatally. He flees, and the pursuing posse shoots and kills him.
Having read in the newspaper that Brock was on the run, Lutie returns to Salt Fork. Just before arriving, she learns that he has been killed. Sara Beth visits her mother, warning her against trying to see Brewton and stirring up more trouble. Lutie tells Sara Beth that she is glad that Brewton will have his daughter to love him. Sara Beth breaks down and invites her mother back to the house, where she reconciles with Brewton.
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