To escape her monotonous life in England, young and beautiful Alice marries Bennett Van Cleve with great expectations, only to face disillusionment in the small town of Baileyville, Kentucky. Married life proves far from what she had imagined, and the dreary atmosphere of the Van Cleve household stifles her. Salvation comes in the form of a job with the newly established traveling library, offering Alice a path to justice, friendship, and true love.