Colonel Ferris, a wealthy farmer in northern California, is strongly opposed to hydraulic mining, a new method developed during the gold rush of the 1870's, which is flooding the area's prosperous farmlands. Despite Ferris' political stance, Jared Whitney, a mining engineer from the East, becomes friends with the colonel's son Lance and falls in love with his daughter Serena. Family tensions deepen when the colonel's brother Ralph gives up farming to go to San Francisco to work for his wife Rosanna's father, Harrison McCooey, a leader in the mining venture. When Lance follows Ralph, the colonel, focusing his anger on Jared, forbids him to see Serena.
George Brent
as Jared Whitney
Olivia de Havilland
as Serena Ferris
Claude Rains
as Colonel Ferris
Margaret Lindsay
as Rosanne
John Litel
as Ralph Ferris
Marcia Ralston
as Molly Featherstone
Barton MacLane
as Slag Martin
Tim Holt
as Lance Ferris
Sidney Toler
as Harrison McCooey
Henry O'Neill
as Judge
Willie Best
as Joshua
Robert McWade
as Mr. Crouch
