Polly Eccles is a "ragged girl" living in a dank slum who is responsible for her sickly four-year-old brother, Billy. After a doctor advises that Billy needs a healthier climate to recover, Polly packs their few belongings and decides they will walk to California. While hitchhiking along the way with their dog, the siblings are given a lift by Kirk Drummond, a young man who happens to be driving to California himself. Upon arriving, Kirk’s wealthy father, John Drummond, is initially horrified by...