John-Boy goes to New York City again to submit his third book for publication. But after his manuscript is rejected, he feels sorry for himself and returns home feeling like a failure. Meanwhile, the Baldwin sisters plan an elegant reunion ball for their finishing school class, but no one comes except the neighbors.

Mary Ellen rescues an underaged girl from a contracted marriage, and her enraged fiancé kidnaps Elizabeth in retaliation. Also, cantankerous cousin Octavia visits the Baldwin ladies to help them sort out their lifestyle.

A charming young lumberjack begins to court Erin, but when another side of her suitor's personality is revealed, Erin's fervent romance turns into a nightmare; Jim-Bob and Ike discover illegally dumped waste.

Stanley Perkins once again proposes to Rose, and she accepts. However, after discovering she has a heart condition, she breaks the engagement, not wanting to keep him from his dream of traveling. Cindy discovers she dislikes working at the dress shop and would rather stay at home.

After finding an old love letter in Ike's belongings, Corabeth furiously accuses him of having an affair and demands a divorce. The Walton family then sets out to try and get the couple to sit down and work things out, only to take sides in laying the blame in the Godsey's problems. Meanwhile, it's Drew and Elizabeth's one year anniversary of dating, and as a result, Drew attempts to pressure her into spending the night with him.

Looking for a teaching position at Boatwright University, John-Boy undertakes the job of selling the university's board of directors on starting a television program on campus. While working on his presentation, he gets inspiration from John Curtis. Meanwhile, Rose decides to go on a diet when her competition for Stanley's affections calls her out on her weight.

The Waltons help rescue the battered wife of a violent veteran who has flashbacks of combat. Jim-Bob is cheated as he tries his hand in the war surplus market.

Corabeth believes that her estranged twin sister is going to take off with their dying aunt's coveted pearls; Elizabeth wants to go to Arizona to see Olivia and John.

Walton's Mountain receives a new Reverend, Tom Marshall, who proceeds to renovate the dilapidated church with the assistance of the Waltons and friends. Meanwhile, Jason and Toni consider marriage, but embarrassment over religious differences threatens their plans.

Rose's old boyfriend, Stanley Perkins, comes back to Walton's Mountain with a few secrets: being fired from his old job causing him to have a nervous breakdown. As he attempts to settle in on the mountain, Stanley soon fears that a relapse will occur and contemplates returning to the hospital for treatment; only to be talked out of it by Rose and his new friends in town. Jason hires a new singer at The Dew Drop Inn who pays too much attention to Toni.

Having just been discharged from the military, Jim-Bob and Jody carouse and cause trouble with their new 'hot rod' until the sheriff straightens them out. The Baldwins still is discovered by the government, and they come to dismantle it but Ike helps them find a way to continue making the recipe.

On his way to Walton's Mountain, Cindy's father is in a car accident and dies. While going through his papers, Cindy soon discovers that she was adopted. With Ben's help, she embarks on a quest to find her birth mother in order to find out why she was put up for adoption. Meanwhile, Drew moves in with the Waltons while his family visits his ill grandmother in Richmond, to Elizabeth's delight.

As Mary Ellen travels to Florida to find out more about Curtis and why he chose not to return to the Mountain following what happened in Pearl Harbor, Jonesy decided to stay until she returns home and temporarily gets a job working at Pickett. When Erin finds out that J.D. makes Jonesy her boss, she angrily quits, leaving him to find out rather quickly that Jonesy isn't qualified for the job. As a result of the bind he's in Jonesy is able to talk J.D. into rehiring Erin and giving her a promotion and a raise after he realizes how important she is to the company.

Now that the war is over, a restless veteran names Jonesy finds his way to Walton's Mountain and soon befriends Mary Ellen and almost the rest of the Walton family. As Jonesy and Mary Ellen become smitten with one another and eventually talk about getting married, Mary Ellen is in for a surprise when a stranger arrives in town with some unsettling and surprising news about her husband Curt. Jason decides to buy the Dew Drop Inn and is overwhelmed by how much work is needed to reopen it.

When Ben returns home from the Pacific Theater, he throws John for a loop when he makes an announcement he would like to enroll in college to become an engineer instead of returning to work with his father at the mill. Later, John receives some news from Olivia that her health has taken a turn for the worse and contemplates selling the mill in order to be with her. Meanwhile, as Erin tries to enjoy her vacation, her boss JD is lost without her in the office and as a result, stops by the house on a daily basis to beg her to come back to work early.

Ben and his fellow POWs are worried they might be executed after the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to ensure the end of the war. Meanwhile, Jason and Toni have differing plans for their future together.

Jim-Bob comes home on leave but runs into trouble when a girl claims to be pregnant with his child. Mary Ellen finds the girl is only faking a pregnancy. Meanwhile, Jason reunites with Toni in Paris, and Ben and his navy buddies defy the Japanese commandant in the POW camp by raising a makeshift US flag.

Cindy's premonitions about Ben being in danger come true when word arrives that he has been captured by the Japanese; John-Boy falls in love with a French girl who runs a book shop in Paris, and agrees to write an article on the threat of unexploded mines.

V-E Day arrives, but Jason and his squad must contend with a German sniper who doesn't know it's over. Ben deals with the Japanese in the Pacific. Jim-Bob catches a very slow ride toward home on a mule cart; the Godseys are caught and called before a panel for occasionally selling groceries without ration stamps; and Ike's store is burglarized.

Mary Ellen attempts to enroll in medical school to become a doctor after the community's beloved "Sweet Billy" dies, but she is discouraged by the school's sexist Dean. Meanwhile, Jason receives many birthday presents as he and John-Boy fight in France, including some of The Recipe from the Baldwin sisters.

John fights to clear Harley's name by traveling to Warm Springs, Georgia where he gets President Roosevelt to issue Harley an official pardon, just before the President's sudden death.

Verdie's husband Harley is accused of escaping prison after committing a murder nine years ago and is reluctantly arrested by Sheriff Bridges. John-Boy and Toni try to find Jason in France. Corabeth stops working at the store. Elizabeth puts off Drew to ride her horse.