Mary Clancy and Rachel Devery reluctantly enter the convent school of St. Francis’ Academy. Although the Mother Superior accurately pegs them as mischief makers and doles out punishment accordingly, she is unable to outsmart them. Running wild through the school and invading the cloisters, the girls substitute bubble bath powder for sugar at the nuns’ tables, cause a fire emergency by smoking cigars in the boiler room, and disastrously attempt to make a mask by covering the face of a fellow student with quick-hardening plaster. Through it all, the determined Mother Superior remains confident that she can calm their temperamental natures. She befriends Rachel by staying up one night to teach the youngster how to make a new dress and recalls her own youthful dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Mary is deeply touched by the simple and devout service when one of the nuns dies suddenly, and she is further moved by the sisters’ Christmas celebration. By graduation day, the change in Mary is complete; she decides to remain at the academy and join the Order.

Ida Lupino’s final film, The Trouble with Angels, uniquely depicts an almost entirely female world where friendship takes center stage, and spirited girls are embraced rather than subdued.