Bad Little Angel

Orphaned adolescent Patsy Sanderson believes she is a child of God, and knows the Bible inside out. She has been taught by her latest guardian, elderly Mrs. Perkins, that the Lord will guide one through life through Bible verses. After Mrs. Perkins unexpectedly passes away just before she was about to adopt Patsy, Patsy also begins to believe that she is a jinx. Rather than go back to the uncaring orphanage, Patsy, praying then randomly choosing a Bible verse, decides her next course of action is to "flee to Egypt" after which she will wait for the next message from God. With no way to make it to Egypt in Africa, she figures it must be a sign that she has just enough money for a train ticket to Egypt, NJ. In Egypt, she befriends Tommy Wilks, who tries to earn whatever money he can doing odd jobs as his drunkard father, Red Wilks, squanders away whatever money he earns on booze. Only newspaper editor Jim Creighton would hire Red, and Tommy in turn has troubles earning any money being Red's son. In Patsy meeting the Creightons, first Jim, then his wife Ellen, her infectious spirit leads to them wanting to adopt her despite having three children of their own already. But Patsy's belief about her being a jinx surfaces again when Jim is fired for writing a scathing editorial against Luther Marvin, the town's richest and meanest man, Red losing his job in the process. In looking for her next message from God about what to do, Patsy begins to believe that any path to saving the Creightons, the Wilkses and herself goes through Luther Marvin.