Cather invents a fictional town in early twentieth century Nebraska to tell the coming-of-age story of the Bergsons, a family of Swedish immigrants. Alexandra Bergson, the eldest of the Bergson children doggedly persists during the worst of times to become a wealthy, independent landowner. The novel is also concerned with two romantic relationships, one between Alexandra and family friend Carl Linstrum and the other between Alexandra's brother Emil and the married Marie Shabata.

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