Set in California, Ramona takes place shortly after the Mexican-American War. Raised by Gonzaga Moreno, Romana was orphaned at a young age, a mix between Scottish and Native American. Giving Ramona everything that she could hope for, Moreno only takes care of the girl because her original foster mother wished it upon her death bed. Readers learn that Moreno has no true love for the girl.
The only apparent reason that Moreno does not like Ramona is because she is part Native American. Moreno has had bad experiences with the Native Americans, such as when they took their land back from her after a dispute. Moreno, however, still owns part of the rancho, and hires Native Americans to work jobs at an annual festival she has there. The biggest event at the festival is sheep shearing.
One of the sheep shearers she hired is named Alessandro. A tall and wise Native American and son of one of the tribes' chiefs, Alessandro is very likable. After a while, Ramona falls in love with him.
Alessandro returns the favor to Ramona, but Moreno messes everything up by telling Ramona that she cannot marry a Native American, despite her heritage. Finding out that, after all of this time, Moreno never loved her, Ramona elopes with Alessandro to spite her.
The novel begins to follow the story of the two runaway lovers, who endure much more hardship because they are a Native American couple. Alessandro's land is taken from him by white men on numerous occasions, and the two have a daughter that will one day grow up to be hated just as much. Ramona discovers that, even though Moreno claims not to have loved her, she provided her everything necessary to live an easy, elegant lifestyle.
