Jessica is grieved after learning that her father (Dick O'Neill) has suffered a heart attack. A small Puritan community becomess angered by the statements uttered by preacher Pedersen in an interview granted to Jessica about the use of forceps.

Ernie Doyle, a man estranged from his wife, kidnaps his children and then threatens to kill them and himself. Jessica Novak is a local TV spot news reporter who drives her boss bananas by going beyond the stories she is sent to cover, taking her camera crew along. For instance, she bumps into a story that is no story about a housewife (Suzanne Lederer) whose estranged husband (Giambolvo) has stolen their two children. Though the police won't take a hand, Jessica doggedly pursues it against orders from the boss. She even puts the housewife on the news.