A series of letters follows Sallie McBride after she takes charge of a crowded orphan asylum and sets out to reform its care. Through candid, often humorous correspondence with a friend she describes arrival at the institution, awkward domestic arrangements, staff tensions, and the daily needs of the children, while confronting logistical, financial, and moral challenges. The epistolary narrative balances comic incidents with earnest problem-solving, tracing practical experiments in child welfare, the gap between idealism and institutional constraints, and the development of her leadership and social conscience.