"Jo's husband, Friedrich Bhaer, has died, and everyone expects Jo to close the school. When she hires sailor Nick Riley as caretaker for the grounds, things begin to change."

"A student brings a case of the measles back to Plumfield, so the doctor quarantines the school."

"Amy reluctantly agrees to send her daughter to Plumfield after Jo enrolls the school's first girl, and Nick plans on returning to the sea."

"Dan is overjoyed when a friend from Boston shows up at Plumfield, but Nat is none too thrilled."

"When Nat discovers a poor black family camping within the Plumfield grounds, everyone learns that prejudice can take many forms."

Nick and the children discover a battered pregnant woman in the forest.