In rural North Carolina, a father dies, leaving his four children orphans. Rather than go to the authorities and wind up wards of the state, they decide to fend for themselves. Fifteen-year-old Mary Call (Julie Gholson) takes on the role of the adult and, along with her brother (Matthew Burrill) and sisters, hides the death of their father from the adult world -- including their adoring schoolteacher, Miss Fleetie, and pesky farmer Kiser Pease, who has eyes for Mary.