Gunslinger Clayton Drumm is about to be hanged when he is given a chance to live if he agrees to murder Matthew, a miner who has steadfastly refused to sell his land to the railroad company. Matthew’s refusal is a major obstacle to the railroad’s plans for expansion.
Louise has left her husband, launched a career as a dress designer, and together with her son moved in with Giovanni, a lawyer. Despite the emancipated exterior, she still encounters the same problems — a son who demands her attention, a dominating lover, and jealousy.
Despite the disagreement of their mother, the sons of old Taras Bulba are taken to the Dnieper camp on their return from a Kiev seminary, to teach them how to become real Cossacks.
