THE STORY: Alma Winemiller, a timid, high-minded young woman, is trapped under the overbearing weight of her minister father and mentally ill mother. Hers is a soul that gazes to the stars, but her life is pinioned by the Puritanical values of her household and community. The return to town of a childhood friend, now a talented, promising young doctor, offers Alma a glimpse into a different way of being—but his recklessness and womanizing threaten to destroy them both if they acknowledge their mutual longings.
