A young girl is adopted into a small town family, but instead of finding happiness, she finds her life a living nightmare due to neighbors' constant speculation as to he father's identity. The scuttlebutt is that she is the illegitimate daughter of a prominent lawyer and former resident (Ronald Reagan). The girl (Shirley Temple in her first role as a teen) becomes especially sensitive to the gossip after she hits adolescence. The backbiting gets so bad, that she loses her first boyfriend. Matters become more explosive when the lawyer returns from Washington D.C. and begins a romance with the girl's favorite teacher. He also finds the troubled girl intriguing but does not realize this until the despondent youth attempts to commit suicide.