Gone with the Wind is a romantic drama that tells the story of a young woman from an aristocratic Southern family, Scarlett O' Hara. Therefore, it is through Scarlett that we learn about and become part of a time (1861) at the time of the Civil War, where young men were enthusiastic and excited to go into combat, all except for Captain Rhett Butler. Even, with the protagonist we observe how an era ends and a new one begins, a way of living and understanding life, as well as how we human beings change and the way in which we adapt to the changes.

The plot takes place mainly in Tara, a large plantation in the southern state of Georgia, where the O' Hara family, owners of the plantation, lives. Scarlett, who at only sixteen years old was one of the most desired girls in town for her beauty, elegance and coquetry, had been in love for three years with Ashley Wilkes (from the same county in Georgia where her family lives), an honorable and kind man, gentlemanly and very romantic, whom she wished to marry someday.

However, her dream becomes impossible when Ashley himself announces that he will marry his cousin Melanie Hamilton, so Scarlett accepts the surprising marriage proposal moved by the desire for revenge and spite that Charles Hamilton, the brother of the woman who would marry Ashley and whom she deeply despises, makes to her. At the same time, Rhett Butler, a cynical and shameless adventurer expelled from the bosom of his family (another aristocratic family but from South Carolina), falls in love with her and the plot unfolds amidst Rhett's struggle to conquer her and Scarlett's determination to deny her growing attraction to him, stubbornly remaining in love with Ashley.

Years later the marriage between Scarlett and Charles takes place before the men go to the front for the war, but it is in the middle of it, when Charles dies as a result of pneumonia preceded by measles and Scarlett becomes a young widow and also, she is pregnant with her first son; whom she will name Wade Hampton Hamilton. Consequently, the protagonist is sent by her mother to the city of Atlanta to spend some time with the aunt of the late Charles, Pittypat Hamilton, with whom Ashley's wife, Melanie, meets.

The plot continues with Scarlett's railroad journey to Atlanta, accompanied by a young slave servant girl named Prissy, upon arriving in the city, she moves in with her aunt-in-law Pittypat and lives with her and Melanie, Ashley's wife. To her chagrin she has to start working as a volunteer nurse to care for Confederate Army war wounded who were being transported to the city. Which she does, because it would have been frowned upon by Atlanta high society for her to refuse to do her patriotic duty, although she does so reluctantly, unlike Melanie who enjoys exercising her duty, applying her loving care to the wounded.

The plot continues with Scarlett's railroad journey to Atlanta, accompanied by a young slave servant girl named Prissy, upon arriving in the city, she moves in with her aunt-in-law Pittypat and lives with her and Melanie, Ashley's wife. To her chagrin she has to start working as a volunteer nurse to care for Confederate Army war wounded who were being transported to the city. Which she does, because it would have been frowned upon by Atlanta high society for her to refuse to do her patriotic duty, although she does so reluctantly, unlike Melanie who enjoys exercising her duty, applying her loving care to the wounded.

Some time later, Scarlett attends with Melanie and her aunt a benefit party for the Confederate rebel cause, as volunteers of the organizing committee of the festival: At this social gathering, Scarlett meets again Rhett Butler, who has now become a smuggler who uses a small fleet of ships to circumvent the naval blockade to which the Confederate States of America have been subjected by the United States Navy.

In view of such events, all the characters, especially Scarlett must face the consequences of the Civil War and the post-war period, the protagonist undergoes surprising changes in her behavior and personality, as she matures in the midst of such a terrible ordeal, changing from being the spoiled, cold and somewhat naive girl of the beginning of the novel to become a strong, relentless and warrior woman, ready to do anything to save her family from hunger and poverty.

The story maintains until the end, the suspense about the fate of Rhett and Scarlett's relationship, about whether she can finally leave her "infatuation" with Ashley behind and find love and peace with Rhett. Beyond the story of love and heartbreak between the protagonists, in general terms, the novel portrays a historical time, the collapse of Southern society prior to the Civil War, in a nostalgic way and the novel's vision seems to lament its destruction; as well as, the stage lived after the Civil War.