When Beverly moves to rural New Hampshire to work at the all-male Marsden College to research algae, the other professors in the department are less than thrilled she's there. Over the next few decades, the world passes the small town by. The threat of war and the promise of progress could never permeate the hallowed halls of a college campus. Nothing seems to change at Marsden, even when Beverly makes a groundbreaking discovery. In 2015, Lena Rivera matriculates at the now co-ed Marsden, unknowingly following in Beverly's footsteps, but somehow still alone.

Inspired by the true story of Dr. Hannah Croasdale, Tell Them to Be Quiet and Wait considers how things change - or stay the same - for women, for academia, and for science, against the backdrop of a century of American history.