Alexander MacKendrick directs this British drama adapted from Hilda Lewis's novel. The film follows Mandy Garland (Mandy Miller), a young deaf girl who has also been mute for most of her childhood. Believing she can speak if given the proper education, Mandy's parents Harry and Christine (Phyllis Calvert and Terence Morgan) enrol her in special education classes at a school for the deaf lead by headmaster Dick Searle (Jack Hawkins). However, although Mandy begins to make some progress, the constant strain of her situation begins to cause problems for Harry and Christine as they argue over how best to proceed with her education.