It is 1961 and Peyton McKenzie, motherless since birth and now 13, doesn't quite know what to make of Nora Findlay. Nora smokes, swears, laughs a lot, and seems to have done everything fun there is to do in the world. When Nora takes a teaching job at the local high school, it seems she might stay on in Lytton forever, despite snide comments from some neighbors. Slowly, Peyton begins to realize that underneath Nora's feisty facade something from her...