A family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.
After leaving his parents' home, young Buddy Baker goes to live with his womanizing older brother in a posh Manhattan apartment where he learns how to be a partying playboy.
In pre-revolutionary Russia, a Jewish peasant with traditional values contends with marrying off three of his daughters with modern romantic ideals while growing anti-Semitic sentiment threatens his village.