The daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Eleanor Hart is an artist who longs to capture in paint the raw power of the vanishing West. To do so, she agrees to her father’s conditions: He will fund the painting expedition if she agrees to marry a man of his choosing upon her return. Her guide, rugged Cherokee trapper Troy Price, is impressed by Eleanor's pluck, but on their journey he transforms her longing for fame into a new yearning for freedom, adventure and a forbidden passion.