A dying Emma Hanson asks her granddaughter to try to right a wrong that denied her a rightful place in history. Emma, a poor farm girl born in 1900, has exceptional scholastic ability and a deep fascination with the natural world. Despite fighting her way through poverty, her family's indifference, and prejudices against women attaining an education, she attends college. Under the tutorage of the college's only female professor, Emma conducts her...