Jackie Delham's mother is dead. At 15 Jackie is left to run the household for her grief-stricken daddy and play "mama" to her 2 younger siblings. Carrying the weight of an adult, Jackie nevertheless dreams of finding her own teenage love -- one as perfect as her parents shared.
A year and a half after the funeral, Katherine King, the lustrous "prodigal" daughter of a respected Bradleyville family, breezes back into town. Before long she catches the eye of Bobby Delham, Jackit's father. Jackie determines to keep them apart. No woman can replace her mama, and Katherine certainly does not deserve her stable and loyal daddy. Besides, one romance in a family is enough, and Jackit's about to fall headlong into her own love.
As love whirls through both generations, the Delham family is buffeted by loss, hope, elation, and tears. Jackie is devastated to learn that her parents' relationship wasn't as perfect as she believed. Will their shortcomings now cost Jackie her own love? What if Katherine falls into old habits and leaves Jackit's daddy -- not to mention her vulnerable brother and sister -- in mourning once more?
