Mary has married Jack Langdon , the physical instructor of the young ladies' seminary where she is being schooled. Because she is underage and risks losing the fortune her uncle has left her, Mary is compelled to keep the marriage a secret, but a baby adds to the complications. At first the young couple leaves it in the care of an Indian woman. Waldo Pennanink , the son of the school's headmaster, becomes suspicious of all the time the couple is spending with the Indian woman and the baby.