| Director | Delmer Daves |
|---|---|
| Budget | $1.5 million |
| Box office | $4.2 million |
Parrish McLean and his widowed mother Ellen arrive at Sala Post's tobacco plantation in Connecticut, where Ellen has been hired to chaperon Sala's daughter, Alison. Sala however refuses to let Parrish live with him, thus Parrish is forced to leave. He is soon hired to work in Sala's tobacco fields, and moves in with fellow crop worker Teet Howie, who lives with his wife's family.
Parrish falls for Lucy, one of the field hands, but she is reluctantly seeing someone else. Back on the plantation, Parrish works over night to replant new tobacco after wireworms devastate a tobacco field. He then goes to see his mother, where he meets and falls in love with Alison. While Parrish is transporting seedbeds, he converses with Paige, the daughter of Judd Raike, a rival businessman. Paige reports the news to her father and her two brothers, Edgar and Wiley, who believe Sala will be forced to sell the field.
Impressed with Parrish's diligence, Sala allows him to move in with Ellen. Parrish does not move in immediately, which upsets Alison, who then dates Wiley. Judd arrives at Sala's residence, where Ellen greets him, but Sala refuses to sell the field to him. Ellen later chaperones Alison at a hotel, where she writes to Parrish that she and Judd are dating. Parrish resents their relationship when he learns about Judd's past history. Nevertheless, Ellen marries Judd.
After the wedding, Parrish returns to the field, where Lucy tells him she is pregnant. Later that night, Alison invites Parrish to see her tomorrow night. Parrish however declines as he plans to attend a harvest party with Lucy. Upset at his rejection, Alison expresses her contempt for Parrish. By winter time, Lucy has given birth to a son, to which Parrish learns Edgar is the father.
The Raikes host a Christmas party, where Parrish uses Edgar's paternity to blackmail him into warmly accepting Ellen as his new stepmother. Parrish accepts a job for his stepfather as a field checker and report the field conditions back to Judd every night. After a while, Judd is furious when one tobacco field has been infected with blue mold, which went unnoticed by Parrish.
Meanwhile, Judd pushes Edgar to acquire a tobacco field from Tully, a farmer, who refuses to sell. One night, while Parrish checks the fields, Edgar burns Tully's field. The next morning, Parrish, repulsed by his stepfather's business tactics, quits his job and joins the U.S. Navy. Alison refuses to wait for Parrish and marries Wiley.
For the next two years, Parrish and Paige correspond through letters. Parrish leaves the Navy and volunteers to work for Sala, who has given up trying to fight Judd. The field hands who worked for Sala have since left. Instead, Sala leases of land to Parrish, on the condition he hires field hands to work for him. Parrish is unable to hire field hands as they fear reprisals from Judd. Paige then enlists her classmates to work weekends in the fields.
Over time, Teet and Lucy return. Infuriated by Parrish's defiance, Edgar tries to set fire to his fields. Parrish puts out the fire and fights Edgar into submission as the field hands watch. Judd watches by without raising a hand to protect his son, and when Edgar returns, he drives off. Parrish, respected by his field hands, returns to grow tobacco with Paige at his side.