This short novel by Beatrice Harraden, who was known for her work as a suffragist, was a bestseller in its time. In it, teacher and activist Bernardine Holme takes up residence at a tuberculosis sanatorium after falling ill. There she meets Robert Allitsen, known to sanatorium residents as “the Disagreeable Man.” As their friendship grows, the mutual influence of each character’s outlook on life and illness comes to have a lasting effect on the two.