The vendetta that spawned the most famous feud in the history of our country started with two men. Randall McCoy who was a man grounded in his faith in God, the law, and duty. Devil Anse Hatfield who was a man who believed in nothing but himself, his wealth, and his family. These two patriarchal fathers bonded early on through the oppression of the Civil War as soldiers for the Confederate army and were good friends. But while in battle, Hatfield deserts leaving McCoy to be captured, causing anger and betrayal to tear their friendship apart. After the war, the two men return to their lives, living on opposite banks of the same river. As Hatfield acquires wealth and McCoy struggles to survive, the bitter jealousy and recent betrayal ignites a family feud that carried on through generations into the early part of the 20th century.
McCoy’s beliefs waver, he losses his faith in God, forsakes his duty finally and dies alone and drunk in a log cabin fire. Hatfield makes his own journey where he finds God, uses the law to gain riches, and discovers his duty and fulfils his honor, dying at a ripe old age, surrounded and mourned by thousands. Two men together on very separate journeys that will become the infamous Hatfield and McCoy Feud.