The story takes place in the American South in 1850, both inside and outside the farmhouse of Ephraim Cabot, an elderly, authoritarian man who lives there with his three sons.

Eben, the youngest, claims the large estate; he believes that the land and his father's house belong to him, as his mother was the true owner of the property inherited by Ephraim. After buying out the rights from his two half-brothers, he is left with his father, who, after a period of absence, returns home married to the young Abby.

From their first meeting, the flame of love between the two young people is revealed, and the development is reminiscent of the strong love triangle of Phaedra, Theseus, and Hippolytus.

The Puritanism of 1850 serves O’Neill, who demonstrates that, in the context of the lives of ordinary people, its influence is greater, but the passions are also more violent and genuine.

The two enormous gnarled willows, like the heroes of the play, fall heavily upon the house, as if to protect it while simultaneously subjugating it.