The story takes place at Wellesley College in New England during 1953, at a time when a conservative backlash led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, spreading fear and suspicion through America. The women's-only college is populated by extremely bright, snobbish upper class students who are being bred for traditional life as dutiful American housewives.
Katherine Watson, a 30-year-old, unmarried, progressive, art history teacher from Oakland California is hired by Wellesley in spite of the fact that she lacks the ‘appropriate' family background, breeding, and education because the college needs a last minute replacement for the position. Coming from the liberal California, Katherine is clearly out of place at Wellesley.
Katherine tries to open her students' minds to their freedom to do whatever they want with their lives. She encourages her students to believe in themselves, to study to become career professionals, and to improve their economic futures. She utilizes her art teachings as a vehicle to put across her opinion to the young women; that her students needn't conform to stereotypes of women made by society, or the roles made for them by society, as women born to become housewives and mothers. She felt that women could do more things in life than solely adopt the roles of wives and mothers. In one scene of the movie, she shows her students four ads, and asks them to question what the future will think of the idea that women are born into the roles of wives and mothers.
Katherine's ideas and ways of teaching are contrary to methods deemed acceptable by the school's directors; conservative women who believe firmly that Katherine should not use her class to express her point of view or befriend students, and should stick only to teaching art. Katherine is warned that she could be fired if she continues to interact with students as she has been doing.
Undaunted, Katherine becomes stronger in her speeches about feminism and the future of women. She is a firm believer that the outlook of women in society needs to be changed if women are to achieve better futures, and that she needs to instill a spirit of change among her students.
Watson chooses to leave after one-year but, as she is leaving the campus for the last time, her students run after her car, to show their affection and to thank for her lessons.