The film, set in the American South during the time of the Civil War, tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara (played by Vivien Leigh), the headstrong and willful daughter of the owner of the plantation Tara. The story begins in 1861. Scarlett is in love with Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), but she learns that he intends to marry his cousin Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland). At a party at Ashley’s home, Scarlett’s overtures to Ashley are seen by another guest, Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). Ashley rebuffs Scarlett, and she therefore agrees to marry Melanie’s brother Charles (Rand Brooks). War is declared, and the men go off to enlist. Charles dies of measles during the war, and the widowed Scarlett goes to Melanie’s home in Atlanta. She meets Rhett at a charity fund-raising bazaar, and she dances with him, violating the customary rules of mourning. Rhett, a successful blockade runner, continues to visit Scarlett over the next few months, as Atlanta comes increasingly under siege. Ashley returns home on a Christmas furlough and asks Scarlett to take care of Melanie, who is pregnant. Melanie goes into labour as Atlanta is being evacuated, and Scarlett and her servant Prissy (Butterfly McQueen) must attend the birth on their own. Scarlett summons Rhett to take her, Melanie, Prissy, and the baby back to Tara, and they flee through the burning city, only to find that Tara has been pillaged by Union soldiers. Scarlett’s mother has died, and her father has fallen into a depression. The only people remaining there are her father, her sisters, and the former slaves Mammy (Hattie McDaniel) and Pork (Oscar Polk).