Its April 1861. Georgia, southern United States. Scarlet OHarathe vivacious, narcissistic, and pampered daughter of a plantation owner in Atlantain a fit of choleric contempt over rejection by her desired man, Ashley Wilkes, hurls a figurine against the wall. And behind the depths of the sofa, Rhett Butler is woken up from his nap. Youre no gentleman, fires the southern belle. And youre no lady! the rogue fires back. Scarlet, for vengeance, accepts the marriage proposal from Charles HamiltonAshley Wilkes brand new brother-in-law. But at the outbreak of the American Civil War he joins the army and dies of pneumonia followed by measles, a not-so-gallantry death. Through wiles and widowhood, Scarlet manages to keep her independence and becomes an astute business woman. Rhett Butlerthe dark, flashy, and scandalous visitor from Charlestonwho is a professional gambler and blockade runner, is enamoured by her survival instincts. Around the social turmoils of the war, what becomes of OHara and Rhett Butler, an outcast whom she marries for money?