Famous stage and screen actress Alvira Drummond is invited to stay at the Walton home after her car breaks down in Walton's Mountain. Contrary to the front she puts up; she is out of work and money after her agent, tired of dealing with her "prima donna" attitude. After she learns a humbling lesson, the Waltons help her regain her confidence, then organize a town performance to help her raise money for a train ticket back to New York.

Jenny Pendleton runs away from her father and stepmother, back to her deserted house on Walton's Mountain. Jenny and John-Boy meet and fall deeply in love, but she is soon traumatized by her father's sudden accidental death and ultimately moves away with the stepmother.