Henrietta Hickathrift is tired of living in an old age home. The people are boring, the food is dull, and there's nothing fun to do. So, on the morning of her 75th birthday, Henny decides to run away. With only $50 in her purse and all her belongings in a single suitcase, she takes a train to the seaside to begin a new life. That's where she meets the 5 children of the Good family who insist on taking her home for a proper birthday celebration. What begins as a party turns into an overnight stay -- and the overnight stay turns into a trial month as Henny makes herself useful around Ivy Cottage. Has Henny finally found a family to call her own -- or is she destined to be a stray forever?.