Daniel Dillon (Peter Mullan) is an Irish immigrant who settled in Kingdom Come; that's a town founded in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, back during the Gold Rush of 1849. It is now 1867, and Dillon has a vault filled with gold and is the owner of nearly every business of any importance in the town. That means if someone digs for gold, rents a hotel room, opens a bank account, or commits a crime, they will have to deal with Dillon.Donald Dalglish is a surveyor played by Wes Bentley. He's with the Central Pacific Railroad, which wants to put a train either through Kingdom Come, or somewhere in the vicinity. He is here to decide the route. Dillon is anxious to ensure that the railway line is routed through "his" town, as this will bring more business.Dillon has a relationship with Lucia (Milla Jovovich), a woman whose role in the town isn't clear. She sings in Portuguese, she runs interference for Dillon and procures women for visitors. Lucia arranges for someone to meet up with Dalglish but he turns her down at first but changes his mind when he realizes the relationship between Dillon and Lucia.Among the travelers who arrive in town with Dalglish are two women, the beautiful but sickly Elena Burn and her lovely teenage daughter Hope. They're played respectively by Nastassja Kinski and Sarah Polley. They've come to town to find Dillon. Elena points Dillon out to Hope, and she gives Hope a rosary to give to Dillon, which she does after witnessing him dispense justice in the form of a whipping. He realizes immediately who Hope is, but she gets away from him. She finds Dalglish and talks him into taking her on a survey run the next day.Now, the presence of these women is very troubling to Dillon, because they are the keys to a dark secret Dillon has kept from the people of Kingdom Come for nearly twenty years. We learn in a flashback that Dillon had come to these mountains with his Polish wife Elena and their months-old baby, Hope. On a cold and snowy night they happen upon a shack named Kingdom Come, owned by a disillusioned '49er named Burn (Tom McCamus). But Dillon sold Elena and Hope to the prospector in exchange for the small gold claim that would later flourish and make Dillon so wealthy. A little later we learn that the Dillon gave the rosary to Elena because it distracted the baby Hope from crying so much.At Dillon's behest, Lucia takes Hope under her wing and dresses her up to look attractive to Dalglesh. She brings her to that evening's festivities and has Hope play the piano while she sings, then recite a poem. Dalglesh is asked to sing a song. Dillon asks Hope what her father, referring to Burn, was like, and Hope is confused, because Elena told her that Dillon and Burn are related through marriage.The next day, Dillon sends his right-hand man Sweetley, played by Sean McGinley, to bring Elena to him. Dillon learns that Elena has come to find him because Burn has died and left her with nothing. Now she is dying as well, and she wants Dillon to give her $200 per year so that she can "do right by Hope". Dillon doesn't respond right away. Dillon tells Lucia that they have to end their relationship and gives her some gold bricks and the deeds to her home, the saloon/brothel, and the tobacco house. Lucia is heartbroken, wanting Dillon and not his money. She accuses him of wanting to have sex with Hope, but rather than telling her the truth, he strikes her and leaves.While on a survey, one of Dalglish's men, Bellanger, played by Julian Richings, tells Dalglish that he's fallen in love with one of the prostitutes and intends to quit once they're finished, so he can settle down with her and her son. The terrain they're surveying is very rough, and as a result the wagon full of unstable nitroglycerin explodes, killing the wagon driver and setting a horse on fire. Later, Bellanger tells Dalglish that running the railroad through Kingdom Come is going to be very difficult, but Dalglish isn't convinced just yet.One morning, Hope and Elena are awakened by operatic singing. Apparently Dillon has sent the singer and some musicians to the hotel as a means of waking them so that he can have Sweetley invite them to his home, which he happens to be in the process of moving closer to town.Dillon asks Elena to marry him. She notes that they're already married but he points out that nobody in town knows it. He tells Elena that he never married anyone else because he was always married to her. His only caveat is that Hope not know what he'd done in the past. Elena agrees to the terms. Hope is naturally confused but Elena is evasive. Elena and Dillon renew their marriage and the reception is a generally fun occasion. Dalglish dances with Hope. Dillon, who doesn't know about Dalglish's problems, notes that the town could really use the railroad, but Dalglish isn't committing to anything. Dillon says something about everything going to Hope, but she says she doesn't want it. Dillon tells her it's all going to be hers, whether she wants it or not. The evening ends with the town watching fireworks go off.Hope and Dalglish aren't with the others, though; they're inside chatting about his having to leave for awhile. Hope asks if the railroad is coming through and he's still not really answering, though they agree that it would be good for the town, though the town's name would have to change. Hope thinks it'll be called Dillontown but Dalglen thinks "Hope" would be a better name. Bellanger and Annie come in and announce their engagement. They invite Dalglesh and Hope to celebrate at the saloon. Dalglesh accepts but Hope stays behind, saying she needs to take care of her mother. At the party, Lucia makes a move on Dalglesh but he turns her down.Dillon makes all kinds of efforts to find a cure for Elena, but nothing's working. Hope has been buying some herbs to help her mother but that's not helping either. Dillon and Elena have only spent a little bit of time reunited, and it's clear she isn't getting better.Meanwhile, Dalglesh and the railroad company have decided to route the railway some distance from the town for easier passage and construction. There's a tense confrontation between Dillon and Dalglesh which results in Sweetley being killed. Dillon tells them to be gone by the next morning. Hope is there to see the exchange of gunfire and she follows Dillon home. That night, Lucia brings the girls to the railroad camp and they party with the men. Dalglesh goes back to Lucia's house with her. The next morning Dillon and his men roust the men and tell them to move on. Dillon asks where Dalglesh is and he's told that he's at Lucia's house. Dillon goes to the house and kicks Dalglesh out of town. Lucia confronts him with the fact that Hope's his daughter.At Dalglesh's suggestion, Lucia moves the girls, the booze and the tobacco house to the valley, effectively moving the entire population of Kingdom Come to her new town of Lisboa, named for her father's home in Portugal, so they can be near the railroad. She tries to convince Dalglesh to stay, but he's committed to finishing the railroad.Dillon confesses to Elena that he wants Hope to be his daughter. Elena tells him that he's going to have to tell Hope the truth. Some time passes and Elena's condition deteriorates quickly, then she dies. Kingdom Come is deserted, and he has to go to Lisboa to get a priest. Following the funeral, Hope tells Dillon that she is leaving to find Dalglish and start a life with him. Dillon takes her up to the original Kingdom Come shack, He shows her a picture of their family when she was a baby, and tells her about the deal made right on that spot between him and Burn. Hope immediately leaves and goes to Lisboa. She arrives shortly after a ceremony staged by the railroad officially christening the town. Hope accompanies Dalglesh to the wedding between Bellanger and Annie.Meanwhile Dillon is faced with the loss of Elena and Hope, and his town. He sets fire to all the buildings in Kingdom Come. The smoke attracts the people of Lisboa, who try in vain to put out the burning town. The next morning Dalglish and Hope find Dillon's frozen body in the snow near his original shack, still clutching the rosary beads. Lucia is devastated, crying over Dillon's body as it is brought back to the ruins of Kingdom Come. While many of the former townspeople rush to find Dillon's stockpile of gold in the burned-out vault, Hope and Dalglish choose instead to follow Dillon's body as Lucia and some others continue with it down the mountain.