Following her husband's death, Bess moves into a modest house and works to save his company from bankruptcy. When it's saved by a loan from Arthur Fineman, he ends up proposing to Bess.
Frustrated with her marriage, Bess accompanies her children on a Queen Mary cruise, where she experiences romance with an older man. After her father's death, Bess and Sam reconcile.
After marrying her childhood sweetheart, Bess Alcott begins a life in the high society of Dallas, Texas. As time goes by, she faces many personal triumphs as well as losses.