Life on a Wisconsin farm in the 1930s isn"t easy. Doris Free and her family are struggling because of the Depression, and the whole town is on edge as they work to survive. When a new family moves to Tomah to manage the general store and introduces Cole, the first black man most of the town"s people have ever seen, conflicts begin to build. Doris is determined to help Cole fit in with the people of Tomah, and learns that sometimes a small action, or a small girl, can bring about the biggest change.