In this early screen adaptation of Kate Douglas Wiggin's book, plucky young farm girl Rebecca Randall (Mary Pickford) is shipped off by her impoverished mother to live with her two maiden aunts in Riverboro, Maine. Though winning over the somber community is difficult, Rebecca manages to spread a little cheer and even charms Adam Ladd (Eugene O'Brien), the handsomest businessman in town. But when one of her aunts becomes ill after Rebecca returns from school, she fears for the old woman's life.