Chronicles the life of Dorothea Dix, focusing on her efforts to improve health and psychological care for people with mental illnesses.

A girl begins her lonely journey -- "The world is my home" -- A teacher and an author -- Beginning the great work -- "I shall be obliged to speak with great plainness" -- Moral treatment for prisoners -- A veto at home, a welcome in Europe -- A model of charity for the South -- The American Florence Nightingale -- More travel, more battles.