McLandon Buchanan is married to MaryAnn Kelly. They have eight children and live in Nashville, Tennessee. McLandon sent his five older children to Gallatin, Tennessee, to help his sister, Marie Wingate. Marie is pregnant and is due to have her baby in less than a month. Marie needed help on the Wingate Farm and help with keeping up with her household chores. After a week, Marie sent McLandon a telegram to come get his children. They were more work than help to her.

Marie had to teach the three girls basic household chores, and the two boys didn't want to do any barn or fieldwork. The boys kept getting into trouble. After learning that his children didn't know how to do anything useful around the house or farm, he decided to move his family to the country.

McLandon and his help man and friend, Amos Burke, were told about a farm in Gallatin that might be exactly what he was looking for. McLandon heard talk of war coming to this country, and he wanted his family to be prepared for when that happened. McLandon wanted his family to be able to preserve the food that they grew and be able to put it in hiding for when war broke out. If they stayed in Nashville, the army would take all the food, and there wouldn't even be food to buy.

MaryAnn was in all the high-society clubs and goings on in Nashville to the point that she had spoiled her older children and neglected the three younger ones. She had spoiled her children, letting the domestic help do all the household chores and taking care of the three little ones. McLandon and his family are going to learn to earn a living by the sweat of their brow.