Rosie Gradel's father has had a stroke. In desperate need of temporary help to run the family hardware business, Rosie's mother contacts the parish priest, seeking his help in finding a part-time worker to keep the store open only until Rosie returns from school each day. Fr. Greiner recommends his trusted childhood friend Frank, who agrees to take on the job temporarily-but only because he has his own business and a flexible schedule. Frank is the town's most eligible bachelor, as handsome as the day is long. He has plenty of money and a heart of steel. Working alongside Rosie day after day, he finds himself deeply in love-a love to which he would remain committed for the rest of his life. Yet a series of disappointments spiral young Rosie into severe mental depression, at a time when such mental afflictions usually led the sufferer to be locked away from family and from society. Worse still, could Rosie's suffering cause her to lock the doors to her own mind? And who is truly culpable for her suffering? Only Rosie knows.