Daydreams of love, adventure and stardom were the fantasies of every young girl growing up during the Great Depression, but for Sonora Webster those very same desires were her one-way ticket away from obscurity and the colorless existence of life in rural Georgia. With the stubborn confidence of a young woman determined to prove that she can do anything she sets her mind to, Sonora answers a newspaper ad for a diving horse girl -- a fearless female brave enough to leap from a tower platform 40-feet high, astride a gallant horse, and plunge into a tank of water. However, much to Sonora's surprise, she isn't exactly anyone's ideal of what a champion diving girl looks like -- especially W.F. Carver, owner of the traveling stunt show. Undaunted by Carver's immediate rejection, Sonora sets out to prove that although she may be young and untrained, she has star quality. With the help of Carver's wayward son Al, she finally earns a place in the show -- and in Al's heart. The devotion that develops between the diving girl and Al is soon put to the ultimate test when a long-standing feud between father and son drives the young man away. With the same spirit and determination that makes her a legendary attraction at the famous Atlantic City Steel Pier, Sonora demonstrates that a love worth having is a love worth fighting for.