Suffragette, reformer, legislator, and author Nellie McClung was Canada's most famous pioneer for woman's rights. But how did a girl growing up in the late 1800s become such an advocate for equality? Nellie - now a young schoolteacher - struggles to overcome her mother's criticism and the prejudices of those around her. Her thoughts and ideas on women's rights and the role of the family begin to take shape as she attempts to help Sarah, a young student in distress, and begins to develop romantic feeling for Wes, a lifelong family friend.