Two proper Boston ladies of the 1890s are appalled when the fashion for feathers on ladies' hats gets even more extreme, with whole birds perched on top. Partly because they favor women's suffrage (who would give the vote to women with birds on their heads?) and partly because they oppose killing birds for fashion, Minna and Harriet begin a conservation movement that starts with society ladies, expands to include sportsmen and schoolchildren, and ultimately succeeds in passing laws protecting many birds.