The narrative follows Oriole Putnam, an energetic girl spending winter in a New England harbor who navigates local hazards, friendships, and responsibilities. Episodic chapters present an early ice-skating mishap while she tends twin children, domestic worries about Uncle Nat and Ma Stafford, and the arrival of figures such as Teddy Ford. Later sequences carry her to a range camp where she meets Ching Foo and Molly, takes part in a spring roundup, joins hunting and fishing excursions, faces wildlife and interpersonal suspicions, and resolves personal troubles toward a hopeful, changed future.