She makes her way through an abandoned mining town to get to a nearby ranch, owned by a well-educated but rude and inhospitable young man named Bill Anders.

She meets the Davis family—mother Sarah, father Bert, Jubie, her always-hungry little brother Harold and baby Gladys—picks her up on the road.

She is moved by their kindness and gentle optimism, particularly by the patience and fortitude of Sarah, who quietly goes hungry for the sake of her family, and dreams of having a home so the children can get an education.

Writing in The New York Times, Bosley Crowther noted the film's similarity to The Grapes of Wrath, with MGM's "own peculiar brood of Joads", but found the setup to be "strictly synthetic.

... Maisie is a right smart gal, fast with wisecracks and not above a double-entëndre or two in surroundings such as the Congo, but she's definitely out of step in a migratory family like the Davises".