Set in a small farming town in Kansas in the late 1940s, this novel is the touching story of a woman who endures much after her heart is broken. Emma is a young woman who makes several mistakes in her youth. She falls in love with her sisters boyfriend, but her sister tricks the man into marriage. Emma returns to town years later and tries to come to terms with her sisters marriage, but uses poor judgment instead. She marries a man she doesn't know well and doesn't love. He turns out to be a mean drunk, and she experiences abuse and neglect at his hands. Emma withdraws from life and loses her former confidence. By reassessing her life and overcoming her insecurities, against her husbands wishes, Emma uses her former education to become a teacher and fills a newly formed counseling position. She finally regains her self-respect and triumphs in the end to find love. This honest drama paints a postcard of small town life in post World War II America.