Grace and Isaiah Edwards' adopted son, John, receives a four-year scholarship to a university in Chicago. Isaiah would rather have a son to share his farming lifestyle. John and Mary have marriage plans that will not be possible if John decides to follow his dream. Torn between two worlds, John is forced to make the most difficult decision of his life.

As a special school activity, Miss Beadle allows the children to create group skits that they will later perform for their parents. Mary and Laura team up with Nellie and Ginny Clark, a lonely young girl whose widowed mother has been neglecting her daughter's emotional needs. Meanwhile, Willie is having trouble getting the other boys to perform "Tom Sawyer" with him.