In 1939 young Waverley Scott arrives on remote Isadora Island in the Puget Sound. She is to be a student at Temple School -- banished because her features too closely resemble those of her mother's married employer.

The headmistress of this all-girl school, Sophia Westervelt, has a mysterious past and a passion for education. She instills achievement into her students, confident that one day they will have "dinner with the King of Sweden," because they will win the Nobel Prize. Under Sophia's direction, Waverley grows as her own abilities and vision expand. But far away in Europe, nations clash, and even isolated Isadora Island feels the impact.

Sophia struggles to keep Temple School going, though formidable forces combine against her. And in the midst of this turmoil, Waverley experiences love for the first time -- a love so fierce that, like her education, it will shape the rest of her life.