A powerfully nostalgic recreation of the fear, patriotism, pride, and sorrow characterizing American life during World War II, focuses on the experiences of the Holly family of Bentley, Georgia.
Quoyle is wrenched violently out of his workaday life when his two-timing wife meets her just deserts and he retreats with his two daughters to his ancestral home on the starkly beautiful Newfoundland coast.
Mama and Papa teach the children the family rules about strangers. Papa discovers his honey has been stolen. Too Tall Bear and the others plan some great practical jokes when they learn a substitute teacher is coming.