Ellen Hartley is desperate for work, but the Great Depression makes it almost impossible until she stumbles onto the Federal Writers' Project, which is hiring people to interview pioneers. Ellen is assigned to a small Kansas town, where it's rumored that the pioneers' stories will be read by President Roosevelt. Ellen becomes involved with three of the women she interviews. As their pioneer stories unfold, friendships and old hatreds are revealed and then brought to a crisis when a skeleton is unearthed. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the skeleton's identity. Ellen is determined to unravel the mystery, but she never imagines where the truth will lead.