The story takes place in the years around 1915 on a farm near Frederick, Maryland. Luvvy, Maudie, and Marylou's mother marries a man who has 3 older daughters. Luvvy (Luvena) is almost 12 and thinks that she should be one of the older girls now and not have to have 7 year old Maudie hanging around her all the time or have to take care of little 4 year old Mary Lou. During the year Luvvy grows up quite a bit and learns that sometimes it's nice just to be a child and not to want to grow up too fast."