Anna, the narrator of this story, misses her deceased mother and must cope with an unruly younger brother.

Caleb is a chatterbox who also misses his mother, even though he never knew her. His constant questions make him a pest to Anna, and he realizes that his desire for attention sometimes makes him a problem for others. When Sarah comes, he is afraid that he might drive her away.

Papa, Jacob Witting, is a lonely and hard-working man. Like his children, he misses his wife, but he realizes that eventually he must move on with his life. Therefore, he places a newspaper advertisement "for help." "You mean a housekeeper?" Anna asks. "No," her father says. "Not a housekeeper. A wife."

Papa receives a reply from Sarah Wheaton, who lives in Maine. Although she loves living by the ocean, Sarah accepts Papa's offer to move inland and...