Life on the prairie can be harsh and no one knows that better than Sarah Jane Price who became an orphan when her father died from the diphtheria that swept through their town. Now Sarah realizes that she must use her talent for teaching to pay her room and board, but some of the townspeople don't think a 14-year-old girl can handle a classroom full of children --- especially when some of them are almost her age. Find out how Sarah copes with her loneliness and fears, deals with the rowdy children, and becomes the town's heroine in this heartwarming story of survival.