Penny Plain is a novel by O. Douglas (pseudonym of Anna Buchan). This is a charming and warm tale of family, friendship and romance. The story takes place in a small Scottish town, just after WWI. The heroine of the book Jean Jardine, a Scottish girl raising her younger brothers on her own, is a young woman of high moral values and kind heart. Jardine family is poor and they had their deal of hardships, but their home is a house of joy, music and love of books, honouring the only treasure they own, their father's old library. Their everyday life is suddenly shaken when a mysterious stranger asks for their hospitality.