Fifteen year old Connie Sinclair struggles to find a way to support herself after running away from home, a poor dirt farm in western Pennsylvania. Arriving in Pittsburgh, she experiences many disappointments. Finally she lies about her name and age to meet the enrollment requirements of a hospital nurse's training program of the 1920s. Connie rotates through the kitchen, laundry, and central supply while learning how to take care of and comfort sick patients, how to give treatments for the common diseases of that era, and how to get along with other students, superiors, patients and outsiders. When a hospital fire leads to exposure of her identity, she has to deal with the consequences of misrepresenting herself, with a father who tries to marry her off in a deal to benefit himself, and with a suitor who stalks her. The story reveals the strength of the human spirit as she triumphs over adversity and mirrors the strength of caring, resilient nurses.