Childhood friends Ahmet and Nuri, the sons of poor farmers, grew up together, studied together, and worked together in a factory. Together, they publish the magazine Light, which opposes the colonial policies of foreign capital and military pacts. After their first imprisonment, the friends' paths diverge: Nuri betrays his convictions and joins a reactionary newspaper. His life is now safe, but he finds no joy or peace. Meanwhile, Ahmet, having become one of the main enemies of the reactionaries, attracts more and more patriots to his side.
Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.
A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town, she learns that their support has a price.
Candice longs to escape the boredom of her seaside town, but when a boy she dreams about turns up in real life, she becomes involved with a dangerous local gang.
A young street vendor who is a cockfighting aficionado, attracted by the image of one of them, settles on the ranch of its owner where he falls in love with the foreman's daughter.