在这个大萧条时期的故事中，Calef从密歇根州前往加利福尼亚州，在密苏里州的Spooner停留，Lute在那里雇佣他打零工。Calef与Lute的侄女Hannah有牵连。但她嫁给了西德尼，一个酗酒的妻子，希望继承他岳父的钱。西德尼和一个古怪的传教士密谋陷害卡莱夫，卡莱夫发现很难掩盖他神秘的过去和他对西德尼妻子日益增长的感情。

In this Depression-era tale, Calef is traveling from Michigan to California and stops in Spooner, Missouri, where Lute hires him for odd jobs. Calef gets involved with Lute's niece, Hannah. But she is married to Sidney, a wife-beating drunk who hopes to inherit his uncle-in-law's money. Sidney and an eccentric preacher plot against Calef, who finds it difficult to conceal his mysterious past and his growing affection for Sidney's wife.

Au début des années trente, Calif McQuiney, récemment libéré de prison, aime Hanna malgré l'opposition de la ville entière.

Der egoistische Farmer Sidney Brenshaw quält seine Frau, erniedrigt ihre Liebhaber, misshandelt seinen Onkel und bringt schließlich die Predigerfrau Lucie um. Doch am Ende siegt die Gerechtigkeit, die Frauen werden von ihrem Peiniger erlöst...