John Wilcox is a young idler who loathes people except for young women. His destiny brought him near Birmingham Mental Institution during an earthquake. At that time Wilcox saves Elsie, an eccentric, half-deranged teenager. John pulls out every manipulation at his disposal to convince her that he is is the right person to help her recover. Grey, Alessi's father, goes on a quest for his lost daughter. She, too, like her mother, was trying to escape him.