Scarlett O'Hara is a spoiled, beautiful, histrionic young Southern woman living in Georgia in the year 1861. In this time, who a woman marries is very important to the rest of her life, and Scarlett loves only one man. His name is Ashley Wilkes. Unfortunately, Scarlett finds out that Ashley is going to marry a woman named Melanie Hamilton, his own cousin. During a barbecue at Ashley's plantation named Twelve Oaks, with all the families in the area, news arrives that a war between the Northern and Southern parts of the United States has begun. Before Scarlett lets Ashley marry Melanie, she decides to tell him how she really feels. While the women nap to before the upcoming party that evening, Scarlett slips down and waits for Ashley to come out of the "meeting" the men are having about the war.