When her father is hanged for her mother's murder, the beautiful half-breed Pearl is left to fend for herself. She finds refuge with distant relatives, the McCanles. She has a breathtaking effect on their two sons, the quiet Jesse and the dashing womanizer Lewt. Although Jesse adores her, she turns to Lewt, who only wants her as a mistress. When, in a fit of anger, she becomes engaged to a laborer, a duel takes place in the sun...