Righteous district attorney Joseph Foster's main goal in life is to rid his city of the gangsters infesting it. In order to be even more efficient in his war against crime he plans to run for go...

　　刚从监狱释放出来的Tom Joad （亨利·方达 Henry Fonda饰）回到俄克拉荷马的家的时候却发现原来的家里已经空无一人，打听之下才从农民Jim Casy（约翰·卡拉丁 John Carradine饰）口中得知，随着工业的发展，当地的农民们都被迫离开该地。Tom和Jim在Tom的叔父家里找到了Tom的家人，一家人决定到加利福尼亚去寻找新的工作。一家人把所有的行李都放在一辆卡车上便出发了...