Acorn Hill is a flurry of activity when the Howard sisters set out to serve their friends. Alice finds herself in unfamiliar territory when she agrees to help Vera on a school field trip, Louise is called upon to be in charge of Nine Lives Bookstore and a most unusual helper, and Jane does her best to keep Rev. Kenneth Thompson from leaving his ministry at Grace Chapel, a possibility that causes deep concern for all three sisters. Through each of...

Shelley's intial excitement of having a pastry chef intern causes her to question her own abilities; Margaret tries to find the right fitness class at the community center; Diane is having a severe case of writer's block; Beverly explores becoming a business consultant. As all four friends pursue their own interests, they are also convinced that a treasure is hidden somewhere in Marble Cove.

When Miriam Maxwell returns to her Chesapeake-area hometown to take over her late sister Ruthie's antiques store, she reconnects with Bess Watkins, an old friend who, along with her granddaughter Phoebe, begins helping Miriam with the shop. As Miriam struggles to organize her sister's jumbled store, her very first customer turns out to be Samuel Bentley whom she dated in high school. He buys an heirloom desk and later discovers, hidden in a drawer,...