- A frail young woman from the East moves in with her cousin in the West, where she causes tension within the family and is slowly driven mad.
- Innocent, naive Letty Mason moves from her Virginia home to Sweet Water on the western prairies to live on the ranch of her cousin Beverly, his wife Cora, and their three children. Letty quickly learns how inhospitable the environment in Sweet Water is, the most obvious item being the incessant wind. But equally inhospitable are the unrefined way the people in Sweet Water live, to which she is unaccustomed, and Cora, who believes Letty has come to steal Beverly from her. As such, Cora orders Letty out of her and Bev's house. With no money, Letty is forced to accept one of the marriage proposals she receives--from Bev and Cora's ranching neighbor Lige Hightower, whom she doesn't love. Despite a less-than-harmonious start, partly due to Letty's isolation as the wind too often forces her to stay inside, she starts to feel affection for Lige, who wants to do right by her and promises to send her back to Virginia when he is financially able. But a visitor who takes refuge in their house away from the wind threatens Letty's ultimate happiness.—Huggo
- When Letty Mason (Lillian Gish), an emotionally fragile woman from Virginia, relocates to West Texas, she finds herself unsettled by the ever-present wind and sand. Arriving at her new home at the ranch of her cousin (Edward Earle), she receives a surprisingly cold welcome from his wife (Dorothy Cumming). Soon tensions in the family and unwanted attention from a trio of suitors, including neighbor Lige Hightower (Lars Hanson), leave Letty increasingly disturbed, resulting in tragedy.—FilmsNow
- Letty moves to West Texas from the East and it seems that the wind always blows and the sand gets everywhere. While living with relatives, she finds that she is not welcomed by the wife. With nowhere to go, she marries a man who disgusts her. Her new home is a small shack with the wind and the sand constant companions. When it is necessary for most of the men to go out into the sand storm, one stays back to have his way with Letty, which costs both of them.—Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>
- An impoverished young woman named Letty Mason (Lillian Gish) travels west by train from Virginia to live at her cousin Beverly's isolated ranch in Sweetwater, Texas. On the way, she is bothered by the constantly blowing wind. Fellow passenger and cattle buyer Wirt Roddy (Montagu Love) makes her acquaintance and tells her the wind usually drives women crazy.
Upon arrival, she is picked up by Beverly's closest neighbors, Lige Hightower (Lars Hanson) and the older, balding Sourdough (William Orlamond), who live 15 miles from her cousin. Wirt assures her he will drop by occasionally to see how she is doing.
After endless miles in sand and wind, they arrive at the ranch. Beverly (Edward Earle) is delighted to see her, but his jealous wife Cora (Dorothy Cumming) gives her a cold reception, despite Letty saying she and Beverly (who was raised by Letty's mother) are like brother and sister. Cora is further angered when her children seem to like Letty better.
At a party, Sourdough tells Lige that he intends proposing to Letty. Lige explains he was planning to do the same. After Wirt drops by, a cyclone interrupts the festivities. Most of the guests seek shelter in the basement, where Wirt declares his love for Letty and offers to take her away from the dismal place. After the cyclone passes, Lige and Sourdough talk to Letty in private. When they flip a coin to see who will ask for her hand in marriage (Lige wins), Letty thinks it is just a joke.
Afterward, Cora demands that she leave Beverly alone and that she has to leave the ranch. Because she has neither money nor a place to go, she decides to go away with Wirt, but then Wirt reveals that he wants her for a mistress, informing her that he already has a wife. She goes back to Cora, who tells her to choose from her two other suitors. She marries Lige.
When Lige takes her home, he kisses Letty for the first time, but her lack of enthusiasm is unmistakable. Worse for the drink, he becomes more forceful, and this makes her tell him that he has made her hate him, which she did not want to do. Lige promises her he will never touch her. He states he will try to make enough money to send her back to Virginia. In the meantime, Letty works around the house, but is bothered by the ever present wind.
One day, Lige is invited to a meeting of the cattlemen, who must do something to avoid starvation. Letty, terrified of being left alone with only the wind for company, begs to go with him. He agrees. After she cannot control her horse in the fierce wind, he has her get on behind him on his horse. When she falls off, Lige tells Sourdough to take her home.
When the cattlemen return, they bring an unwanted guest, an injured Wirt. After he recovers, Lige insists he participate in a roundup of wild horses to raise money for the cattlemen. Wirt goes along, but later sneaks away and returns to Letty. Out of her mind with fear as she endures the house shaking from the worst wind storm yet, Letty faints soon after Wirt's arrival. He picks her up and carries her to the bed.[note 1]
The next morning, Wirt tries to persuade Letty to go away with him, but she rejects him. He insists, noting Lige will kill them both if they remain. As Wirt becomes more aggressive, Letty picks up a revolver to defend herself. Confident that Letty will not fire, Wirt grabs the gun and it goes off, killing him. Letty decides to bury him outside. After she is done, the wind uncovers the body, terrifying her.
When Lige returns, Letty is so glad to see him, she kisses her husband. She then confesses she killed and buried Wirt. When Lige looks outside, however, the corpse is nowhere to be seen. He tells Letty that the wind can remove traces when a killing is justified. He has enough money to send her away, but Letty declares she loves him and that she no longer wants to leave. She is no longer afraid of the wind.
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