Annie Zook, the only daughter of an Old Order Amish preacher, having passed up one chance at marriage, is torn between doing what is expected of her as a member of the Plain community, and her burning desire to be an artist.
Minister's daughter Olivia Dunne, pushed into a hastily arranged marriage to beet farmer Ray Singleton after a one-night stand with a departing American soldier leaves her pregnant, slowly relinquishes her long-held dreams of study and travel as she comes to love and admire her husband.