Homecoming Summary

Four children, Dicey, James, Maybeth, and Sammy, are left abandoned by their mother during a journey to their Aunt Cilla's home in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They resolve to walk the rest of the way under the leadership of the eldest, Dicey. They learn to survive and fend for themselves, fueled by scarce resources and occasional charitable encounters, such as their meeting with a young runaway couple and with Stewart, a Yale student who drives them to their destination. Upon their arrival, they discover that their aunt had passed away, leaving their prudish cousin Eunice as their sole relative in the area.

Eunice offers the siblings shelter in Aunt Cilla's house, but the adjustment to their new life is fraught with challenges. The delicate balance is upset when Eunice decides to adopt the children but contemplates sending the defiant Sammy to the state. During their stay, they learn about their grandmother, Abigail Tillerman, residing in Maryland. Sensing a potential safe haven, the children decide to leave Eunice and embark on another journey to meet their estranged relative. En route, they experience a series of adventures, narrowly escaping danger from a menacing farmer, and finding temporary respite with a friendly circus proprietor named Will.

They eventually reach their grandmother's dilapidated farm, where they're given a grudging, temporary shelter. Unfazed by their grandmother's initial hostility, the children start participating in farm work, gradually warming their way into her heart. Their stay is initially filled with tension, culminating in a heated argument between Dicey and their grandmother over Sammy's punishment. The next morning, a heartfelt conversation happens, revealing the grandmother's genuine affection for the children and her own personal anxieties about raising them. Eventually, she agrees to take the children in after a persuasive plea from Dicey, marking the beginning of a hopeful new chapter in their lives.