A product of wealth and high society, Patricia Mansfield is sent to Colton College by her father, who hopes to eradicate her snobbish veneer. On the train, Pat meets Denis Adams, a prominent athlete who is working his way through school as coach of the girls' track team; he introduces her to track star Charlie Paddock. Through efforts to keep her associates in place, Pat sinks deeper into the mire of antagonism; her only friends are Harriet Porter and Knute Knudson, the Swedish janitor.