Desiring another heir, wealthy landowner Ephraim Cabot (Burl Ives) marries young Anna (Sophia Loren) in a hush-hush exchange for the title to his land. His grown son, Eben (Anthony Perkins), is the one Anna really wants, and the two carry out a steamy affair. When she winds up pregnant, Ephraim is ecstatic -- only the baby isn't his. When the baby arrives and the old man sells Anna out, Eben is crushed. But his heartache has just begun. ...