内容简介：
Eight-year-old Karen Pickens is abandoned on a parcel of land when both parents are killed in an accident. Karen grows to be in her twenties with the social graces of an eight-year-old. While Karen is growing, a Wall Street executive, abandoned by his wife-to-be, is suddenly free of a woman in his life and becoming unhappy in his profession. Tom decides to start his lifelong dream of becoming a published writer. He realizes that he needs peace and quiet, so he purchases the land occupied by Karen Pickens. A battle of sorts develops to determine who is the rightful owner of the property. Tom provides Karen with a room until she has learned enough social graces to survive the society of the times. Unable to provide the fundamentals in behavior, Tom acquires a retired school teacher. The learning process draws the three of them together. Time and the struggle of teaching a woman to be a woman causes Tom to fall in love, and the frustration of wanting to stay close to Karen and help her gain her independence causes a ripple in their relationship.