Cora Miller, a student at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, is tired of her adventures, and asks to be transferred to the Whitethorn Institute, which promotes conformity and tells students to ignore the doors that appear before them. Soon, the oppressive atmosphere of Whitethorn crushes Cora, and she decides to leave. But Whitethorn doesn't allow her or anyone else that privilege, trapping the students there for his own purposes.