“Gone with the Wind” is a story about life of Scarlett O’hara living down south during and after the Civil War. Written in 1936, by author Margaret Mitchell. Only being eighteen years old in the beginning of the book, Scarlett is still a very strong, stubborn, young woman who gets her way. Scarlett lives a very simple life, in the south with a lot of money on a plantation named Tara. When the civil war begins, Scarlett’s mother dies of disease and her father goes insane because of her death. All the slaves are then freed, leaving the plantation empty, and Scarlett to do all the work. When the taxes rise 300 dollars, Scarlett is desperate to find a way to pay them. She promises herself that there’s only one way to make money; she must lie, cheat, steal, or kill to make sure no one goes hungry again

There is talk of a Barbecue at Twelve Oaks, the Wilkes’ plantation, down the road from Tara. Scarlett meets Gerald O’hara on the road to ask if the rumor Mammy, her slave, had told her is true. That Ashley Wilkes is going to ask his cousin Melanie to marry him. Scarlett is heartbroken that the man of her dreams is marrying someone else. When she arrives at Twelve Oaks, Scarlett is the center of attention, all of the men, even those who have girlfriends, talk to Scarlett. She is the most popular girl there. Melanie and Ashley talk of their marriage as they overlook the garden. Scarlett is sitting beneath a tree with all the men surrounding her, enjoying her time until she spies Ashley and Melanie together. The girls all have to go take a nap, but once they are all asleep Scarlett sneaks out and listens in on the conversation the men are having about the upcoming war. Everyone is sure the war will be short and glorious. After all, "southern gentlemen are worth any ten Yankees. Everyone knows that." Everyone, that is, except Rhett Butler, he thinks the war will be hard to fight. After Rhett and all the men get into an argument, he leaves. Shortly after, Ashley follows him. Scarlett intercepts Ashley, and she gets him alone in the library to confess her love for him. Ashley says he loves her too, but they are too different and cannot be together. After Ashley leaves, Rhett Butler shows himself, he was in the room the whole time. Scarlett comes out of the room and she hears all of the other girls talking about her, but Melanie sticks up for her.

The War has now begun and all the men are going to enlist. Charles Hamilton asks Scarlett to marry him, only saying yes in attempt to make Ashley jealous. In a double wedding, Ashley and Melanie and Charles and Scarlett get married. The men go off to war and Charles dies shortly after of pneumonia. Scarlett is then a widowed. Ellen O’Hara gives Scarlett permission to go to Atlanta and stay with Melanie and her Aunt Pittypat. They are at a charity dance for the Rebel army, when Scarlett runs into Rhett again. He bids $150 to dance with her. All of the people at the dance were amazed by this because she was just recently widowed. Rhett being the only man around to ask Scarlett out, they become very fond of each other. After spending so much time together, Rhett says to Scarlett that she should be, "kissed and often, by someone who knows how."

Scarlett and Melanie volunteer at the hospital for the wounded from the war. Belle Whatling donates money to the hospital, but no one will take but Melanie because she runs a brothel. Scarlett recognizes the handkerchief from Rhett Butler that the donation comes in. Scarlett as a nurse, helps to show how gruesome the injuries were and how desperate the conditions were.

Eventually Sherman starts to attack Atlanta and everyone flees to the cities. Scarlett sees Big Sam, one of her slaves, and he tells her that her mother is sick. She says that she wants to go back to Tara, but the doctor convinces her that it wouldn’t be the best thing to do, because Melanie is pregnant and she cannot make the journey. Melanie soon goes into labor so Scarlett goes to find a doctor, but he cannot help her because there are so many dying soldiers that need his help. Scarlett has to deliver the baby herself along with Prissy. Melanie has a baby boy. Scarlett sends Prissy to get Rhett and ask him to bring his horse and carriage. Then the five of them head to Tara. They cross through the retreating fires of the Confederates in Atlanta. Rhett leaves them on the road to Tara, and he goes to join the war. The journey was long and hard, but Scarlett gets them through it. On their way they stop at Twelve Oaks, and find it demolished. Miraculously, Tara is still standing, but dirty and damaged. Her father greets her at the door, but he has gone too crazy. Scarlett finds out that her mother died, she is very upset, but Scarlett’s father still thinks that the mother is alive. Scarlett is the only one that the family can depend on. She says "As God as my witness I will never be hungry again."

Scarlet tries to get Tara back together. But taxes are now raised three hundred dollars, such a high amount that Scarlett cannot pay. Soon Ashley comes home and Scarlett confesses her love for him again, but he says that he admires her fearlessness, and rejects her. They kiss, and then Scarlett asks Ashley to run away, then he says she can’t because she has too much honor to leave Tara. Emmy Slattery and Mr. Wilkinson come to Tara and offer to buy it from them. Scarlett screams at them to leave, and Mr. O'hara gets on his horse and tries to chase them away, but he falls off and dies while he is jumping over a fence. Scarlett decides that she’ll go see Rhett in Atlanta and ask him for the $300. She dresses up in a dress that she made out of curtains. She tries to seduce him into marrying her, but he refuses. After this Scarlett runs into Frank Kennedy, and she tries to get time do marry her as well to get the money for Tara. Eventually she starts a lumber business with Ashley, to get the money.

Later, Scarlett and Rhett are talking and she again asks him to marry her, and this time he says yes. They go on a honeymoon to New Orleans. Scarlett wants to go back to Tara and build a mansion in Atlanta. They eventually have a baby girl named Bonnie. Scarlett doesn’t want to have any more children because she is still in love with Ashley. They separate, and Rhett goes to see Belle and she convinces him to go back, because the baby needs him. Rhett gets drunk one night after Melanie has a party and he wants to get Ashley out of Scarlett's mind forever. The next morning he apologizes then says he is going to London and taking Bonnie with him. Bonnie hates it there and says that she wants to go home and see her mother. Rhett takes Bonnie home, and then says he’s leaving. Scarlett tells him that she is pregnant, they both say that they don’t want the baby and Rhett says maybe Scarlett will have an accident. As he says this Scarlett tries to slap him and falls down the stairs, and loses the baby.

After some time, Melanie tells Rhett that Scarlett is better. They are on the patio talking and watching Bonnie ride a horse, when Bonnie decides that she will take a jump. But she does not make it and dies, just like Gerald. Mammy calls on Melanie to help her, because Scarlett and Rhett are both distraught. But Melanie is very ill, and falls when she is at their house and she doesn't recover, then dies shortly after. Scarlett realizes as Melanie dies that her love for Ashley never existed, and that she really loves Rhett. She rushes home to tell him, but it is too late. He has already made up his mind to go to Charleston. Scarlett begs him not to go, "where shall I go .... what shall I do?" But Rhett says, "I don't give a dang," Scarlett believes that she needs to get him back so she says she’ll go to Tara to think, to the place that gives her strength. Scarlett says, "tomorrow is another day."