Pru Burbidge lives a simple life on the family homestead on Dalhousie Road in 1940s rural Nova Scotia until her father abandons the family and her mother falls ill. Her life is turned upside-down by these events, and she is forced to take on the role of primary caregiver to her siblings, Jessie, Flora, and Davey. Things go from bad to worse when Pru's mother dies...