Jim Burden is an orphan traveling from Virginia to his grandparents' farm in Nebraska when he meets the Shimerdas, a family of Czech immigrants hoping to start a new life in America. Jim is immediately drawn to their spirited daughter Antonia, little suspecting that her friendship will shape his life. As the two enter adulthood, their paths diverge. Jim is the only grandson of well-off farmers, while Antonia's parents struggle to adapt to life on the beautiful but unforgiving prairies of Nebraska. The Shimerda's homestead does not flourish, and tragedy follows -- yet still, Antonia endures.