Young and inexperienced in the ways of love, Lucinda Farrow finds her life turned upside down after the loss of her father. Destitute, she and her mother must make a new life for themselves and only the kindness of their beloved housekeeper seems to offer any hope as she whisks them into jobs at the small restaurant in the tiny town of Biders Clump.
Struggling to find herself in a whole new world, Lucinda finds her life made more difficult by her mother's inability to adjust to her new environment and accept her meager existence, as they depend on the kindness of others to make a living.
After the loss of his sister, Willem Druthers has inherited a farm, a niece, and a nephew but little in his life has prepared him to deal with the after-effects of the children's grief.
Desperately trying to eek a living from a farm that seems incapable of growing anything but onions, he longs for a better way to provide for his small family. His once-a-week excursion to the town eatery is the bright point in his life, doubly so when a pretty dark-eyed woman comes to work at the Grit Mill Restaurant.
Will fate conspire to keep two dreamers apart, or will circumstances bring them together despite all odds?
