Ten-year-old Leona Peel is caught between her mom who spoils her and her dad who tries to discipline her. Leona tries to stay out of trouble and out of Mr. Peel's way. But when Mrs. Peel dies of cancer, Leona must build a relationship with her father. Mr. Peel at first tries to put Leona in an orphanage, but eventually settles on leaving her as a boarder with a family in Salt Lake City, eighty-five miles away from the Peel home. Learning to live without her mother is tough enough. But Leona's biggest trial is convincing her father that they need to live together as a family.