When two young sisters, Sarah (
Lesley Ann Warren) and Lauretta (
Meredith Baxter Birney), first visit Beulah Land with their guardian, Penelope (
Martha Scott), the plantation is run by the stern hand of Deborah Kendrick (
Hope Lange), a widow with a son, Leon (Paul Rudd), and a daughter, Selma (
Madeline Stowe). Sarah later marries Leon, while Lauretta – a flirt with an eye for adventure – elopes with an actor for a life upon the stage. From the beginning, Sarah's real love and Leon's rival is the land itself. Upon Deborah's death, Sarah, a strong-willed woman, takes over the management of Beulah Land. Early in her administration of the plantation, Sarah locks horns with the cruel, ambitious overseer, Roscoe Corlay (
Paul Shenar). She will not have her slaves whipped, and is determined to run Beulah Land in an intelligent, humane manner. As the years pass, Leon seeks affection from other women, and Sarah becomes ever more obsessed by the land. Only one man tempts her to forget her obsession – artist Casey Troy (
Michael Sarazin). The start of the
American Civil War and the arrival of
General Sherman's troops shatter life at Beulah Land, but Sarah vows to rebuild the plantation from its own ashes. ==References==