A Place Apart is set in New Bedford, a small community whose downtown is dying because businesses have moved to a mall on the outskirts of the village.

The story moves from Thanksgiving to May, a year and a half later.

Victoria and her mother move to New Bedford, to start over, following the death of Victoria's father. They move from a large, roomy house into a small house that seems very ugly to Victoria and is crowded with their things. Victoria has left her best friend to go to a place where she must start over, a difficult challenge for her.