Asriel Stroon has done well for himself since arriving in America, but has he lost his purity of soul in the process? On a return visit to his Polish hometown, he makes amends by arranging a marriage between his daughter, Flora, and Shaya, a brilliant young Talmudic scholar whom he brings home with him. This does not sit well with Flora, who hopes to find an American doctor to be her husband. But after she spends time with Shaya and takes a liking to him, she gets an idea: perhaps Shaya could get a secular education and become a doctor!