Gretchen Kohler can't help but dream of a life beyond tending her father's general store and caring for the family. She enjoys writing and believes she has a talent for it, but her traditional Amana village frowns upon pursuits of that sort. So Gretchen confines her stories and poems to her journals. When she meets a young reporter who seems a kindred spirit, Gretchen shares some of her stories with him - only to have her trust betrayed in the worst of ways.