In Hoyt City, a statue of founder Ethan Hoyt is dedicated, and 100 year old Hannah Sempler Hoyt (who lives in the last residence among skyscrapers) is at last persuaded to tell her story to a 'girl biographer'. Flashback: in 1848, teenage Hannah meets and flirts with pioneer Ethan; on a sudden impulse, they elope. We follow their struggle to found a city in the wilderness, hampered by the Gold Rush, star-crossed love, peril, and heartbreak. The star "ages" 80 years.
Barbara Stanwyck
as Hannah Sempler Hoyt
Joel McCrea
as Mr. Sempler
Brian Donlevy
as Steely Edwards
K.T. Stevens
as Girl Biographer
Thurston Hall
as Mr. Sempler
Lloyd Corrigan
as Mr. Cadwallader
Etta McDaniel
as Delilah
William B. Davidson
as Sen. Knobs
Lillian Yarbo
as Mandy
Helen Lynd
as Bettina
Mary Treen
as Persis
Lucien Littlefield
as City Editor
