Jericho is a Kansas stockyard town. The “daughters” are various residents of the town, from the rich and cruel Mrs. Butford, to the aspiring social arbiter, Mrs. Mary Agnes Wedge, and to the young widow Grey Rutledge, who is having a rather tame love affair with Wistart Wedge, Mary Agnes’ disdained husband who is a newspaper publisher. The story revolves around this triangle with various ramifications which involve other local people, and through adroitly linked episodes, contrives a many faceted portrait of a town.