Anglo-Indian Victoria Jones seeks her true identity amid the chaos of the British withdrawal from India.

Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.

故事发生在十九世纪的英国，当时的社会阶级分化严重，穷人生了病根本就得不到有效的医治，只能选择默默等死。南丁格尔（杰奎琳·史密斯 Jaclyn Smith 饰）是衔着金汤匙出生的千金大小姐，一次偶然之中，她目睹了贫民医院里的种种惨状，大为震惊。回家之后，她开始学习护理，立志要成为一名护士。南丁格尔的这一举动震惊了当时的社会，因为那个时候，护士是下等人才会从事的职业，而女性则更是不被允许在外面抛头露面的。
战争爆发了，南丁格尔决定去前线救治伤员，这一次，她的决定意外的没有遭到质疑和反对，甚至还得到了人民的支持和簇拥。