A woman who has been institutionalized for 60 years for the "crime" of not conforming to the 1920s image of what a proper young woman should be (in other words, she did what she wanted and didn't care what anyone else thought about it) is finally released to the custody of her family, consisting of her grand-nephew and his family. At first she keeps a self-imposed distance from the relatives, but she soon finds herself coming around to her nephew's wife, a free spirit who is under the thumb of her cold and controlling husband

Lillian Huckle è un’anziana nubile che ha vissuto per oltre cinquant'anni in un ospedale psichiatrico. L’istituto è costretto a dimetterla e lei viene accolta in casa da suo nipote Hugh, sposato con Harriet Ambrose, inizialmente infastidita dalla nuova ospite. Gradualmente le due donne troveranno il modo di comunicare e si riconosceranno nella stessa insofferenza nei confronti delle convenzioni borghesi.