May Wedderburn is the seventeen year old daughter of the local pastor who wishes to escape from the unwanted attentions of Sir Peter Le Marchant. She befriends a kindly neighbor, Miss Hallam, who presents her an offer of a lifetime. Become Miss Hallam's companion, traveling with her to Germany and there receive musical training for her voice. They travel to Elberthal, a town in a country far from May's English home. May, however, loses herself at the train station in Köln. There she meets a stranger who helps her out of her difficulties, seeing as she knows no German. The memories that she makes that day will affect her future time in Germany.