Donald and Molly MacDonald clear a valley deep in the Oregon Coast Range. in doing so, they must remove the trees that fill the valley. The trees are felled, split or sawed into lumber and shipped out of the valley. As the years pass, their family grows, nine sons. Many notable characters populate the valley and the town that grows there. Mills are raised and a great timber empire emerges. All the sons become a part of the growing empire and direct portions of its operations. They marry and have families that enrich the lives of Donald and Molly.