Joseph Svenden is a middle-aged schoolteacher who lives on a farm with his dying mother. In his simple life there is no excitement, even in his long-time relationship with a widow. However, when a 17-year-old beauty enrolls in his class, life takes an unexpected turn. She boards her horse in his barn and she then seduces him. They carry on a furtive relationship which leaves him torn between the passion, and knowing that he is doing something wrong. When her indiscretion starts the inevitable scandal, many different reactions ensue.