This novel deals with the tribulations which beset Gavin McAllister, upstanding family man and teacher in a small conservative college where the pressures of raising his brood have kept him from getting his doctorate. He still hopes to when Rose, his daughter, is left in a state (referred to as "her condition") by the son of a prominent man. Can one of his poorest but most deserving students, Abe, come to the rescue of daughter and father?