Will Texas be independent or a U.S. state? Ex-President Andrew Jackson recruits cattleman Devereaux Burke to travel through hostile Indian land, find Texas hero Sam Houston and persuade him to support annexation. In exchange, Burke will gain a contract to sell beef to U.S. forces during the war with Mexico sure to follow statehood.

Dealing openly with anti-Semitism and Nazi atrocities, the story spans World War I, Prohibition and the preliminary volley of World War II. Fanny (Bette Davis) thrives on the adulation of countless suiters before and after she marries Job Skeffington (Claude Rains). Ravaged by age and illness, Fanny clings to Job's promise that "a woman is beautiful only when she is loved."