It's 1913 and Mama hopes sending 13-year-old Dorrance to live in the city will curb her tomboy ways. But Dorrance's city relatives do nothing to make her more feminine. Gram encourages her individuality, Uncle Sabert gives her a boy's job, Aunt Marilyn alters her clothing to remove all lace, ruffles, and bows. And Dorrance's celebrity is sealed among her fellow students when she bloodies the nose of the school bully on her first day in town. No matter what the challenge, Dorrance always seems to land on her feet. That is, until she falls in love with Becky.