Set in the post-Civil Wars days of 1881, this was the story of the stormy Logan clan, descendants of Irish immigrants from County Cork, Ireland who continued the family's well-to-do legacy by running a horse and tobacco enterprise on a farm near the city of Lexington, Kentucky.

The cast of characters in this historical drama included:

• Brett Cullen as Ned Logan, the dashing widowed patriarch who is known for his honorable and charitable sensibilities. He is proud of his family legacy and will protect it at all costs. He once said: "My grandfather-he came to this country a hundred years ago. He built a life-an incredible life for his family out of nothing. This land, this land means everything to us."
• Grayson McCouch as Sean Logan, the industrious eldest son who was later appointed the Deputy Director of Lexington. He is an excellent horseman and wants to be his own man. He raises tobacco on the farm. He secretly yearns for Marita, the black secretary, but such a romance could endanger the family's political and social standing.
• Jeremy Garrett as Clay Logan, the hardworking, hot-tempered younger brother who later dated Vivian Winters. He is often at odd with his father, Ned.
• Sarah Rayne as Lexy Logan, the free-spirited 10-year-old  daughter who freely shares her opinions. Once, the banker told Clay "Boy that youngin' has a mouth on her." to which Clay replied, "She just says what she thinks." Lexy has a dreaming tree that she climbs to sit and dream about things.
• Lea Moreno Young as Alice Logan, the smart, well-mannered older daughter who has taken on much of the family's household responsibilities since her mother Libby died in childbirth. Alice is "the very picture of Libby when she was eighteen."
• Ron Melendez as Jeremy Bradford, seventeen-year-old streetwise orphan from new York City whom Ned invited to live with the Logans. He and Alice become entangled romantically. Jeremy's mother Emma (Melissa Leo) was in a sanitarium in New York for her tuberculosis (consumption). She became addicted to the  laudanum - a concoction of straight opium and alcohol and Jeremy tried to wean her off the substance.
• Steven Williams as Isaac, the trusted black ranch hand whose been on the farm for years.. 
• Sharon Leal as Marita, Ned Logan's black secretary. She is caring and compassionate and the confidant of Alice Logan.
• Lisa Sheridan as Vivian Winters, the banker's snobbish daughter and ex-fiancée of Sean Logan who withdrew his marriage proposal because he was secretly in love with Marita.
• Sean Bridgers as William Winters, Vivian's conniving brother who wanted to destroy the Logan family.
• Casey Biggs as John Hayden Turner, the Winter's estate manager who was hired by Vivian to handle the family's business after her father Asa Winters was shot by an angry client during a bank run. Turner worked with William to bring down the Logan clan.
• Gabrielle Fitzpatrick as Charlotte Bradley, a local woman whom Ned Logan saved from a buggy accident. She quickly became Ned Logan's wife. Unbeknownst to him, Charlotte was in cahoots with Molly McGuire and John Hayden Turner to cause discord among the family and consequently gain control of the Logan's land and property.
• Brigid Branaugh as Molly McGuire, the town tramp who colluded with Charlotte and Turner.
• Chelsea Field as Aunt Regine, Libby's sister. Alice keeps in touch with Regine by letter, but Ned held a grudge for what happened ten year earlier when his wife died. Out of respect for Libby's memory Ned forgave Regine when she revisited the farm. Her transgression? She tried to take the children away from Ned because she didn't think he could raise them properly. But Regine was still up to her old tricks when she asked Ned if she could take Alice to Boston so she could introduce her to everything the city had to offer her which included a chance to find a proper husband who had some semblance of social standing.