Elizabeth Thatcher, a cultured young teacher in 1910, fears leaving her comfortable world in the city. But when she accepts a teaching position in a frontier town, she finds new purpose and love with a handsome Royal Canadian Mountie.

Devout wild-west farmer Clark Davis works his tail off to provide for his wife, sons Aaron and Arnie, and daughter Missie. When his beloved, equally-devoted older son Aaron is startled, Clark, who was chopping firewood, accidentally hits his leg with an ax. He would have bled to death if wandering youngster Nate hadn't found them, brought them home, and taken care of the farm, way above the kids' ability. Grateful Clark offers Nate an indefinite farmhand job, all the more interesting as he and Missie take to each other, but she's also courted by a classy railroad surveyor. Once recovered, Clark realizes that Nate is really Willie, the son of local grump Zeke, who left years ago after his kid brother Mattie's tragic death. Decision time arrives for both families.