Young Vincent is a work of biographical fiction that tells the story of the poet and playwright from latchkey child to cavalier and defiant Vassar graduate. As the eldest daughter of Henry and Cora, it was Vincent's responsibility to care for her two younger sisters when their mother was away, including nursing for them when they all got typhoid fever, managing the household and helping bring in extra cash by taking odd jobs. Fun-loving, gifted, but temperamental, the beautiful redhead bucked the system at every turn, yet miraculously found a patron while earning money entertaining guests at a local inn. Vassar College soon beckoned, as did celebrity and numerous romantic entanglements with men and women.

Jenifer Kay Hood captures this intriguing tale with gusto, using Millay's letters, journals, and first hand interviews with the poet's sister, lovers and friends to create an in depth look at the life that shaped one of the foremost poets of the Modernist era.