Margaret grows up to become a respectable lady in the South, just like her mother May Belle. She wants to become a writer, but her feminist mother insists on her becoming a female doctor. May Belle puts a lot of pressure on her daughter, forcing her to be the best in everything. As a young woman, all the boys want to be with her, but Margaret’s heart is set on Clifford West Henry, a young man from a good New York family, a connection she pursues with the help of the actor who brings him to life. Their bond is deep and bright, and for a time it seems like a hopeful future awaits them.
They fall in love, but their relationship is cruelly cut short when Clifford is sent to France with the Army and succumbs to his injuries after a German bombing. Margaret is sent to Smith College by her mother, where she studies medicine. She loathes it, though, and aches to return to Clifford. When she receives a phone call that he has died in a French hospital, she is crushed. A month later, her mother dies in the influenza epidemic of 1918. Margaret returns home.
She chooses to stay home and care for her father and find her place in Atlanta society. She attempts to gain full membership in the Atlanta Junior League. She is refused, however, when she shocks everybody with a sensual dance. Red Upshaw and John Marsh notice Margaret and are immediately drawn to her. At first she is not impressed with Red, knowing he earns his money by bootlegging. However, their dislike soon turns into love, and together they enjoy the wild life of the Jazz Age.
When their engagement is announced, Margaret’s family makes clear they are against it. The pair still decide to marry, but their marriage is troubled from the start. Red decides to quit his job, so Margaret applies to a newspaper to earn money. She is hired as an interviewer, but does not impress her boss. After gaining more experience, she turns out to be a highly respected reporter.
When Red leaves for Texas, Margaret decides to stay behind to focus on her career. He returns seven months later and thinks she is having an affair with John. They fight, and Red beats Margaret severely. The next day, John gives Red money to leave town and never come back. He also provides Margaret with a gun to defend herself if Red returns. Margaret and John soon start a relationship and are married in 1925.
By this time, Margaret is working on her first novel, Gone with the Wind. When it is published, it becomes a huge success. Her fame and money do not do much for her marriage, and she soon is estranged from John. When Red visits, he reveals that he is getting married soon. The end credits state that Red committed suicide not long after, and that Margaret died in 1949 after being struck by a reckless driver.
