In 1854, Mary Bee Cuddy is a 31-year-old spinster from New York, a former teacher who journeyed to the Midwest for more opportunity. She is an active member of the small farming community of Loup in the Nebraska Territory and has significant financial prospects and sizable land ownership. She seems strong and independent but suffers from depression and feels isolated.

She makes dinner for her neighbor Bob Giffen and sings to him, but when she proposes, he turns her down, saying she is plain-looking and too bossy. He leaves to find a wife back east. After a harsh winter, three women from the community show signs of mental instability due to the hardships they have faced.