Summary
The town of Colbrook, Massachusetts was founded by the family of the same name, and as such they are its leading family. Widowed Mrs. Reginald Colbrook - Mary - has had to manage the family money following her husband's death, something she had never done and at which she knows she is not good. However, in doing what she felt best, she made some bad investments, leaving her and her children - young adult Muriel, teenagers Reginald Jr. ("Reggie") and Gwen, and adolescent Bill - penniless, which she tries to hide from them. When the children do find out, Muriel, Reggie and Gwen, absorbed in their own lives, decide to do what they believe is best for their own individual situation, which involves abandoning their mother and living with their judgmental and controlling but wealthy paternal Aunt Caroline. Bill, on the other hand, was not invited by Aunt Caroline, as she has always believed the rumors that he is not her biological nephew, he who would not have gone with her regardless in his unconditional love for his mother. As Mary and Bill try to deal with their financial situation, their lives are affected by Bill's new friend, who was previously seen only as their curmudgeonly neighbor Mrs. Adelaide Crosby, and John Rudlin, the bank manager who has always had a bad name by all adult blood Colbrooks, such as Reginald Sr. and Aunt Caroline, but who Mary has always considered a friend. These supportive relationships and ultimately the truth may set them all on a path to true happiness.
