Settling down again in the sleepy coastal town of Brentwood, Maine, after four years in Boston, Edna Dawson was determined to pursue her nursing career and equally resolved not to become a target for small-town gossip. Her romance with Garth Woods, a successful young accountant, had been a lively topic in Brentwood and one of Edna’s primary reasons for moving to Boston. Although she sincerely enjoyed Garth’s company, Edna had disagreed with him that they were suitable for marriage.

But Edna’s first action upon returning — taking a job as nurse for Dr. Mark Seton, Brentwood’s handsome plastic surgeon — became the talk of the town. Edna herself, as a child the victim of an accidental fire, carried a burn scar on her throat and cheek for which she proudly refused to undergo cosmetic surgery, stalwartly maintaining that the scar had become like a part of herself.

Undertaking her new position with abundant skepticism, Edna was surprised and touched to find that virtually none of Dr. Seton’s patients were the wealthy matrons seeking face-lifts that she had expected. She became particularly fond of little Elizabeth Corey, whose childish beauty was marred by an ugly birthmark, and her widowed father, Bert, a celebrity on a local radio station.

Although gently teased and cajoled by both Dr. Seton and Bert Corey, Edna persisted in stubbornly resisting treatment for her own scars. And as the townspeople continued to notice her romances, Edna, too, wondered whom she would choose — Garth, Mark, or Bert?