We are introduced to 16-year-old Dorcas Miller, a farmgirl who has been training to be a housekeeper since she quit school. She has four younger siblings named Philip, Ruth, Esther, and Luke. Luke is hardly ever mentioned, and the two younger sisters are collectively called "the schoolgirls." I would like to note that this book was written in 2004, not 1954.

At dinner, Mother and Father announce that their second-cousin, Rita, will be coming to stay with them. Rita's dad is dead, her mom is sick, and so to give the mom some relief, the kids will be packed off to different relatives for the summer. Most of the relatives are more liberal Mennonites and Rita's mom is scared of their influence, so the Millers will be taking Rita for the summer.

Dorcas is horrified. She has only met Rita a few times, but she remembers her as a girl who was always reading and riding her bike, living in a cluttered house where the kids ate snacks all the time. Dorcas vehemently asks, "Why would we ever take such a girl into our home?" like she's a drug dealer, and the other kids chime in. The parents say that while it will be difficult, they must love and guide Rita on the path of godliness.

After dinner, they do devotions and more work. The time is spent with Dorcas wrestling with her feelings and then chiding herself.

The next day, Dorcas rises at 5 AM. Philip and Father plant corn, Dorcas and Mother work in the garden and home, the schoolgirls go to school, and I think the author forgot Luke exists because there is no mention of him.

When the schoolgirls get home, the three girls and Mother prepare a barbecue chicken dinner with lots of sides, because they are hosting an end-of-spring dinner for the two teachers, as in the only two teachers, of their local two-room Mennonite school. The teachers are both 20 years old and live out of town, but board with community members during the school year. They have a cheerful dinner and sing hymns in the woods.

Privately, Mother and Father ask Dorcas if she was eyeing the male teacher. They remind her to never pursue a man unless her pursues her first.

Despite this word of admonishment, the happiness of the evening has made Dorcas "sweeter." This makes me think of Warren Jeff's FLDS compound.