When Bryan Nelson, a Salt Lake City college student, finds out that his girlfriend, Mary, grew up in a secretive polygamist sect that plans to force her to wed her first cousin, he helps her escape from her family's control. Mary Nelson, now his wife, tells Bryan her father has 18 wives and she has more than 200 siblings. Soon, Bryan learns more about the group and its substantial business empire, including a casino, a hotel, a gun manufacturer and a multimillion-dollar renewable energy company.