Confessions of a Co-Ed

Pat falls for Dan Carter at Stafford College, drawing Peggy Wilson's jealous accusation that Pat is stealing him. Pat resolves to stay away from Dan, but Peggy engineers a chance for them to ride together in Hal's car. On an out-of-bounds road, the car hits a policeman and plunges into a ditch, though the lovers escape without being identified. Peggy's vanity case is found in the car, leading to Peggy's expulsion from the College and leaving the passenger's identity unrevealed.

During the Christmas holidays, Hal and Pat join a mountain skiing party that includes Dan. Dan manages to separate Pat from the group and brings her to a forest ranger's hut where they are alone. They make love, deepening the triangle of guilt and jealousy. Hal's jealousy triggers further revelations.

Jealous and furious, Hal tells the Dean that Dan was in the car with Peggy, exposing him to consequences. As a result, Dan is expelled from Stafford College and leaves Pat behind.

Peggy visits the College to collect belongings, and Pat confides that she is pregnant. Peggy advises marrying Hal to avoid scandal, but Pat refuses to deceive him. Pat then writes a letter of explanation about the pregnancy, which Peggy promises to deliver.

Pat and Hal marry after the pregnancy; the marriage is born out of complicated circumstances and the need to protect the child. Yet Pat holds to the hope that honesty will prevail despite the past.

Three years pass before Pat learns that Peggy did not deliver the explanatory letter about the pregnancy. The delay deepens Pat's sense of betrayal and unsettles the status quo in her marriage.

On the same day, Dan returns from South America, and Hal, without revealing his own marital status, brings Dan home to dinner. Dan uses the moment to speak plainly: he betrayed Pat, but loves her and wants to marry her.

Pat returns home to find that Hal now knows the truth about the child’s paternity. A violent quarrel erupts as the couple confronts past mistakes and the possibility of a family with Dan.

Pat confesses that she still loves Dan, refusing to deny the bond that developed during the disrupted years. The admission shifts the balance of blame and responsibility between the two families.

Hal agrees to a divorce so that Pat and the man she loves can be married and the child can be raised with his real parents. The arrangement marks a turning point in the characters' lives as they confront a future built on honesty.