The daughter of a prominent doctor, loyal and imaginative Virginia Eide lived in an idyllic world a world of youthful notions of romance and hours spent daydreaming with her best friend. But Virginia's dreams are forever altered when the Depression sweeps in with crippling unemployment, strikes, and riots. Virginia soon follows her father into a whole new world a world of shanties built along the banks of the river, where out-of-work men and their families struggle to survive. It is here, working as her father's medical aid, that Virginia learns the real lessons of life. The down-and-out people of "Soo City" rise above their circumstances, displaying an uncommon spirit of generosity and love that brings Virginia's wealthy family a much-needed gift of hope. Laugh and cry with Virginia as she faces hardship and sacrifice and through it all develops a luminous strength of character and compassion that will change the direction of her life.