Farm girl Dorothy Miller dreams of becoming a writer, much to the chagrin of her old-fashioned father, who believes that a woman's place is in the home. While in the fields one day, Dorothy meets a young artist who has come to the country to paint landscapes. Attracted by her beauty, the artist urges Dorothy to visit him in the city. After his departure, Dorothy decides to run away to the city in order to realize her ambitions. There she and the artist fall in love and Dorothy becomes one of a settlement of artists residing in the Latin quarter where she writes the story of her experiences. The book, with accompanying illustrations by the artist, is accepted by a well-known publishing house whose head is the father of the artist, estranged from his son because he insisted upon pursuing a career in art. As he reads Dorothy's book, and later as Dorothy's father reads his daughter's book, both parents come to understand the motivations of their children and reconciliations are effected.

Dorothy Miller's parents wanted her to marry a young farmer and settle down, but she wanted to be a writer. Frank's father wanted him to be a publisher, and he wanted to be an artist. Naturally the two exiles from family are drawn together when they meet in the famous Greenwich Village section of New York. Frank paints a magazine cover of Dorothy and sells it anonymously to his father. Dorothy sells him the story of her own life and aspirations in fiction form, and it is given to Frank to illustrate. In after years they read with interest the story of When You and I Were Young.—Moving Picture World synopsis