An all-star cast brings vividly to life Steinbeck's novel about the rivalry between two brothers for the affection of their father. Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck considered East of Eden his quintessential novel. This sumptuous 1981 production brings Steinbecks bestseller to the screen more fully and faithfully than any other adaptation. Sweeping from Connecticut to California and from the Civil War to World War I, it follows three generations of the tumultuous Trask family. Through these mens lives slithers Cathy (Jane Seymour) a she-serpent who holds their love and enmity. This saga explores the nature of good and evil, the origin of sin, and the hope of reconciliation. In its ambitious themes, pervasive Biblical allusions and abiding reverence for the land, East of Eden stands as a timeless American Epic.