When 16-year-old Hope Yancey and her Aunt Addie move to Wisconsin, they get caught up in local politics and small town life. Both employed at the Welcome Stairways Diner (Hope as a waitress, Addie as the cook), they agree to help the diner`s owner, G. T. Stoop, mount a campaign for mayor. G. T.`s campaign is hampered by the fact that he is suffering from leukemia and that he`s running against a firmly entrenched--and corrupt--incumbent. As Hope and Addie settle into life in Wisconsin, they both find love, and a home, at last.