It's the summer of 1932, and the Depression is taking its toll on the people of Ontario. Jack and Honey Bailey own a hardware store in North Bridge, and Jack, understanding the hardships of the townsfolk, provides credit to whoever needs it, which seems to be everybody. Honey is a little more business oriented with their customers, but that does not prevent the hardware store from going under and the Baileys declaring bankruptcy. Honey's brother, Joe Callaghan, is not of much assistance to his sister's family as he too is just scraping by running his rooming house; he has often needed to live off his sister. Jack and Honey feel they have no choice but to ask Jack's family for support. Offered by Jack's mother, Jack and Honey with their brood - pre-teens Hubert (known as Hub), Henry (known as Fat) and infant Violet - decide to move to Jack's hometown of New Bedford to live in the abandoned Bailey family summer house located just outside of town at Bass Lake. New Bedford, a mining town,... Written by Huggo

In North Bridge, Honey and Joe are just scraping by. Honey can't find a job but is determined if only for the sake of her family. But she is no where near able yet to reunite her family. In New Bedford, May admits that she sees the arrangement with all three children as being permanent, never giving Honey the children ever again. Despite warming up to their Aunt Grace who personally can relate to the boys' situation, Hub and Fat are rebellious and Hub in particular is defiant. Bob thinks that splitting up the boys would be the best solution, but May is equally adamant that she and Grace can manage the boys. The boys decide to run off, their first choice being back to North Bridge to be with their mother. But when opportunity shows itself, they stow away a ride back to the summer house at Bass Lake. When May and Grace first find that the boys are missing, May is inclined to think that Honey apprehended them. Not wanting to give Bob the satisfaction of an 'I told you so', May instead ... Written by Huggo

Honey's financial fortunes take a turn for the better as she finally gets a job, albeit a poorly paying one, as a bookkeeper/clerk at Molloy's Grocery Store. Even the boys have a job as George Murphy, one of the mine managers, is going away on a much needed vacation and needs someone to look after his dog, Pal. Joe's fortunes are not as good. The bank is foreclosing on the mortgage on his rooming house. He wants to start a catalog business, but obviously the bank won't lend him the money. He tells Honey that he is selling the rooming house to finance the catalog business. But in reality, he has lost everything and unscrupulous financiers are after him, so Joe secretly leaves North Bridge, leaving Honey to fend for herself. But Joe's problems are not as desperate as the many hobos who are descending on New Bedford. The town is split, where some like Max and Grace, do whatever they can to help, whereas others like May and Bob, want the hobos just to leave town. May thinks her case is ... Written by Huggo

Honey's economic fortunes again take a turn for the worse. The bank is increasing the rent on the apartment, and she loses her job at Molloy's Grocery Store. She is thinking of moving to faraway Toronto, where she suspects there are more jobs than in North Bridge. She needs the company of her children now more than ever. However May is threatening to decrease the boys' visits to North Bridge to once a month, in part because she wants to shield escort Grace from the company of a high school beau, Judd Wainwright, with whom Grace got reacquainted on the bus trip and who May never liked. And since Grace doesn't know how to drive, there is no other means of transport. May's effort to teach Grace to drive was a disaster, the lesson which resulted in a car crash requiring extensive and expensive repairs to May's car, and May landing in the hospital for an extended stay with a concussion. The boys, wanting more than ever to be with their mother, try to earn enough money for it to happen. ... Written by Huggo

The boys, especially Fat, are getting emotionally attached to Pal. Fat even wants to keep him. May, on the other hand, is totally exasperated by Pal's antics. It gets worse for May when George Murphy is tied up on his vacation, which he needs to extend by two weeks. Since the boys are starting school and May does not want to look after the dog, the Baileys make arrangements with Max to look after Pal for the additional two weeks. This new arrangement does not stop Pal from wandering back to the Bailey household and his friends, Fat and Hub. Pal's latest antics start a war between Fat - and by extension all those in the Bailey household - and May's neighbors, the Grady's. Although Dottie Grady initiated the argument by demeaning Honey to Fat, Fat escalated it. May demands that Fat apologize to Dottie Grady, in front of a meeting of the Daughters of the Order of the Empire, which he eventually but reluctantly does. The over-the-top apology is not sincere, but so theatrical that Dottie ... Written by Huggo

Honey has moved to Toronto in the prospect of a job. She manages to get work in a garment factory as a seamstress, but the hours are long and the conditions harsh. Because of the conditions and being worn out, Honey comes down with a chest infection and is fired from work. She is more destitute as, still sick, the hospital won't let her stay since she can't pay. Back in New Bedford, everyone is unaware of Honey's situation. May thinks that it would be good for Hub to learn some responsibility and as such Bob gets him a job on Wick Thompson's farm on weekends doing haying. It is also long hours. There, he bunks with Harry Bloomington, an older Englishman who keeps to himself during their off hours. Harry mentors Hub, who enjoys the cooperative nature of a farmer's family life. When the farm goes under, Hub learns about humility and fairness from Wick and Harry. And Fat also gets a temporary job, in a Chatauqua show passing through New Bedford. Fat loves the life of being on stage, ... Written by Huggo

Honey is back in New Bedford, living in May's house with the boys, and working in the mine office under Bob's supervision. On the invitation of Honey's co-worker, Marjorie Behan, Honey joins Marjorie's informal social grouping of single friends. Not specifically looking for a new man in her life, Honey nonetheless attracts the attention of a couple of men. The one who seems to have her initial affections is Percy Ardley, a constable with the New Bedford Police Department. Percy is a proper Englishman with, to use Fat's description, a swelled head. Most of the men in the singles group, including Max and Archie, have the same impression of Percy as they don't much care for him. Marjorie, slightly jealous, warns Honey that if she is looking for a new husband, Percy is not the man for her as he is a wanderer, and as such is not stable as husband material. May and the rest of the Baileys aren't too happy with what they see as Honey's cavorting as they feel it is demeaning to the Bailey ... Written by Huggo

Max, the new English teacher and aspiring playwright, is encouraged by Honey and Grace to submit a one-act play to National Public Radio for their serialized mystery program with the chance of winning one of three prizes of a new Packard. Although Max does not win, he gets an encouraging rejection letter asking for more submissions from him for one-act plays. Since the rejection was due to what the radio station characterized as wooden dialog, Honey and Grace think that Max would benefit by having his play actually performed on stage so that he can listen to real people speaking his words. The obvious choice for the theater company to perform the play is the New Bedford Amateur Dramatic League. However, the League is no longer in existence, and they would have to ask the former president to resurrect the company. This situation causes a potential problem as the former president is snobbish Toppy, who has no use for Honey. But a good play and the stage is more important to Toppy than ... Written by Huggo

May's latest town project is opening a mission to assist the down and out in New Bedford. This worthwhile project does have its detractors, such as Max, as the mission is only available to townsfolk and not to the many transients passing through town. And as the mission is reaping all the town's donations, Max's soup kitchen for the transients is no longer getting any donations. Meanwhile, Grace is invited on her first official date with Judd Wainwright, to a mutual friend's out-of-town wedding. Grace so wants to go but doesn't want to tell her mother the reason why she wants to go so badly. May won't let her go only because she needs Grace's help at the mission. But May, who still doesn't approve of Judd solely based on his financial standing, suspects Grace's desire to go is because of Judd, this suspicion based on family gossip Toppy's information. Although Grace tries to tell her mother the truth, May as usual doesn't budge in her feelings. May has her eye on Reverend Peterson as ... Written by Huggo

Joe Callaghan, Honey's brother, makes an inauspicious return to New Bedford. He is now totally down and out. In the six months since Joe absconded with Honey's savings - six months in which Honey has not heard from him - he has dabbled in various businesses, some legitimate and some not so legitimate, but none that has panned out. Although May helps Joe get out of the New Bedford jail after an altercation with Sergeant Stoneman, she treats him like any other hobo and wants him to leave town. However Joe has other ideas. He wants to be with family and has holed up in an empty farmhouse on the outskirts of town. He wants himself and Honey to buy the house, which only requires a $50 down payment. Although Honey doesn't trust Joe, she does buy into the dream so that she can be out from under May's control, the dream which includes getting Violet back. Honey seems to be heading into the right direction financially when she stumbles upon a home hairdressing business, if only May will let ... Written by Huggo

Honey's birthday is approaching and the boys want to get her something special. Instead of a little knick-knack, what Hub thinks would be the best gift is a visit from Violet. This gift may prove to be difficult to get as May will not allow it. Hub, with Max's help, even drives the three hours to Hugh and Matilda's to convince them of such. Although Matilda eventually gives in, Hugh, Matilda and May obviously don't have any intention of giving Violet back to Honey beyond this visit. But for this visit, Hub and Fat need to raise some money for the round trip bus fare for Matilda and Violet. Coinciding with this event, May and her women's volunteer group are deciding on a fund-raising event for the mission. When Honey inadvertently contradicts May in front of the group, Honey is placed further in May's bad books as the group goes with Dottie Grady's idea of a bake sale rather than May's idea of a winter carnival. Although they do proceed with the bake sale idea, May goes behind the ... Written by Huggo

Grace receives some devastating news for her ego. Judd has decided to call off the wedding, as he is moving west to British Columbia without her. He did not feel that he and the Bailey family were a good match. But Grace, feeling humiliated, decides not to tell anyone, and even buys herself an engagement ring to continue with the façade. Honey inadvertently gives Grace an idea of how to escape her troubles. Meanwhile, Hub, still continuing with his never-ending quest to earn money for the bring Violet home fund, lets this single-mindedness affect all else in his life. It affects his school work the most, and he fails the 6th grade. He asks Max not to tell Honey as he wants to tell her himself; Hub ends up not doing so. Hub's latest money making venture is with a band of older boys calling themselves the Midnight Movers. The Midnight Movers, likening themselves to Robin Hood, assist people in bilking their landlord of rent money. In these times, first month is free, the second month ... Written by Huggo

Despite May giving the boys her assurance that she will let Violet come back home, Honey and the boys continue with their preoccupation with the 'bring Violet back home' fund since they do not trust May to keep her word. In an effort to expand her hairdressing business, Honey decides to go to a 2-day course in North Bridge to get her hairdressing diploma. And Hub and Fat take more direct measures by going to speak to Mr. Walker, the bank manager, about a creative solution in buying the house. Hub's single-mindedness with getting Violet back continues as his school ...