Lloyd Sherman and her friends, Betty, Kitty and Allison, are starting the school year at a new school, Warwick Hall, a boarding school for girls in Washington. They find it a wonderful place with new friends and adventures. But Lloyd comes down with high fever shortly before Christmas and the doctor says she must not go back to school but stay at home to regain her health. During her forced vacation, she learns to see herself and people in a new light. She sets out to help and cheer people up.