"The Great War or Elsie" describes the life of a young, inexperienced California nurse thrust into the violence of trench warfare in World War I. But, there is an element of freedom in wartorn Europe, compared with the stifling, controlled atmosphere at military bases in California and New Mexico, where she recently served. When she is able, Elsie casts aside military regimen, Allied propaganda and many restrictions on women to find opportunities to sightsee and enjoy herself in severely devastated France. After the Armistice, assignment to the American occupation of the Rhineland proves exciting and stimulating. There are encounters with imperious, even violent, Germans, exposure to the troops' recklessness and misbehavior by fellow nurses. Many want to return home, but Elsie does not. Elsie is sought after by soldiers far from the United States, the Army forbidding fraternization with German women. A courtship in a German castle forces a decision for Elsie that shapes her life thereafter.