In 1905, Laura's assignment to write an article for the Mansfield, Missouri, newspaper about the new school teacher leads her to start an unpopular crusade to get the farm children into school.

With the realization that his father may not return now that the Civil War is over, thirteen-year-old Tyler finds himself the man of their Missouri farm and the master of a new dog, the strikingly colored Sooner.

Fifth-grader Carly's assignment to interview a reclusive, brooding classmate leads her to discover some of the events that have caused his antisocial and abusive family's negative impact on their Missouri farming community, and Carly's family in particular.