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Karen Merchant meets Nicholas Staal when both are assigned to work in a large midwestern public high school. Bancroft High is an oppressive institution, with Principal Robert Aneyh as the self-serving leader. Nick immediately butts heads with Aneyh--he simply cannot abide the administrator's attempts to masquerade as a person of integrity. Soon it is revealed that Nick has a pattern of challenging autocratic managers. In fact, he has been transferred seven times by weak administrators whose games he would not play.  

At first, the other teachers marvel at how oblivious Nick is to the unwritten rules that dictate "proper" faculty behavior at Bancroft. But eventually an inspired few begin to follow him in resisting the system. It takes great courage. Principals have the power to dictate what goes into teachers' "permanent files," to what schools they are assigned, and what class loads they carry. Administrators can make life easy or they can utterly destroy a teacher's career. Teachers' fates depend on currying the administrators' favor. It is this intimidation that Nick and his followers defy.

As the story unfolds, Nick becomes drawn to Karen's keen mind and aloof manner. Gradually, he penetrates her defenses and helps her take more risks, both in her professional life and in her relationship with him. He eventually helps her free herself not only from those who cripple her in her teaching, but also from the stifling limits she has put on herself as a woman.