In 13th century Italy, Francis Bernardone, the son of an Assisi merchant, renounces a promising army career in favor of a monastic life and starts his own religious order, sanctioned by the Pope.
A scientist doing experiments on a human fetus discovers a method to accelerate the fetus into a mature adult in just a few days.
After the Civil War, a Texan who served in the Union army comes back home to find himself ostracized by his neighbors for having fought against the Confederacy. On top of that, he finds that his younger brother is now the sheriff, and is ruling the town with an iron hand.
