Character's Bio: Grase Bailey

Grace is Honey's unmarried sister-in-law who lives with her mother, May. She has grown up with low self-confidence due to her mother’s constant scrutiny. Eventually, Grace gets a job and moves out of her mother’s house to live with Toppy. Grace is involved with a series of men, though none of her relationships last. Eventually, after a whirlwind affair, Grace marries a man named Van. She eventually learns he is a con man who lied about everything except his feelings for her.

Actor's Bio: Kathryn Greenwood

In addition to her role as Grace Bailey, Kathryn Greenwood has extensive experience working in radio, film, television and theatre. She has appeared on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, The Kids in the Hall, Second City Live, and Hostage for a Day, where she starred alongside John Candy. Kathryn was also a regular on the hit TV show Whose Line is it Anyway? with Drew Carey. A winner of the Dora Mavor Moore Award, her dramatic credits include Street Legal, Queer as Folk and the Nora Ephron film, This is My Life.

Character's Bio: May Bailey

May is Honey's domineering mother-in-law who resents Honey for the death of her son, Jack. When Honey is forced to look for work, May takes in Honey’s two boys and uses this opportunity as a second chance to fix the mistakes she made with Jack. Though her decisions are harsh and manipulative, May truly believes she is doing what is best for the family. Eventually, May is diagnosed with a serious heart condition, but attempts to hide it. Soon her illness becomes apparent and she believes her family’s care is actually an attempt to steal the family mine. May remains at odds with Honey until, by chance, she is forced to deliver Honey’s son, Zach, and they eventually put aside their differences.

Actor's Bio: Shirley Douglas

A Canadian acting legend, Shirley Douglas made her Canadian television prime time series debut with her role as staunch matriarch May Bailey in Wind at My Back. No stranger to portraying strong, often sullen characters, Douglas’ stage credits include Big Momma in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Hagar in The Stone Angel. Daughter of Tommy Douglas - one of Canada’s greatest political leaders -and mother of actor Kiefer Sutherland, Shirley Douglas is one of Canada’s most celebrated talents. She received the Order of Canada in 2002 and was honoured with a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame.

Character's Bio: Del Sutton

Del Sutton is Max’s older brother who arrives in New Bedford in time to be Max’s best man at his wedding to Honey. Del is a railroad executive whose temporary decision to stay in town turns into a permanent one. When he loses his job, he decides to live a more carefree life and Honey’s children take to him. Grace helps Del get a job working as a mechanic for Ollie, and Del later helps Ollie woo Grace. However, after becoming colleagues with Grace at the radio station in town, the two soon begin to have feelings for each other. They admit their feelings, but ultimately know that they are not right for each other, and Del eventually leaves New Bedford.

Actor's Bio: Ron Lea

Ron Lea’s impressive list of film and television credits includes roles in such productions as Criminal Law, This is Wonderland, Bon Cop, Bad Cop and Saw IV. A student from the world-renowned National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal, he received a Gemini nomination for his work on the television series Street Legal in 1995. More recently, he appeared with Hollywood legend Barbara Hershey in the Kevin Sullivan film Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning.

Character's Bio: Bob Bailey

Bob Bailey is May’s eldest son and is responsible for running the mine. He and Toppy (his wife) end up having marital problems, and eventually get divorced. After the divorce, Bob leaves town and is rarely seen again. May is furious with him for abandoning the town, and often blames him for the troubles with the mine.

Actor's Bio: Dan Lett

An accomplished stage actor, Lett has performed in theatrical classics at many of Canada’s finest venues. His credits include The Cherry Orchard at Tarragon and Berkeley Square at the Shaw Festival. He has won three Gemini awards for his work on the CBC comedy show Made in Canada. Lett can also be seen in other Sullivan Entertainment films such as Under the Piano and the award-winning Butterbox Babies.

Character's Bio: Hubert ‘Hub’ Bailey

Hubert ‘Hub’ Bailey is Honey's eldest son. He is incredibly stubborn and often resists the control his grandmother tries to exercise over him. He soon gets into trouble in school because of a number of new stresses on his life, including losing his father, living apart from his mother and sister, and living with his grandmother. He eventually becomes interested in the mine and May begins training him to become the future owner. As he grows older, Hub becomes a much quieter and gentler young man, and eventually decides to become a priest.

Actor's Bio: Dylan Provencher

With a background in children’s theatre, Dylan Provencher made his television debut in 1996. He has since made guest appearances on popular shows such as Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps. In 1999, the Montreal native received the Young Artist Award in recognition for his role in The Sweetest Gift. Dylan returned to the set of Wind at my Back in 2001 to deliver a moving performance in “A Wind at my Back Christmas.” Currently, Dylan is a real estate agent, alongside his brother, in Toronto.

Character's Bio: Henry ‘Fat’ Bailey

Fat is the younger brother of Hub Bailey and is the more mischievous of the two. When Fat meets a police officer, he decides that becoming an RCMP officer is no longer just a dream – it’s his goal. His family does not take him seriously, but Fat is determined to succeed.

Actor's Bio: Tyrone Saveage

Son of actors Janet-Laine Greene and Booth Savage, Tyrone Savage began his acting career at a young age, appearing on the popular series Goosebumps and The Dresden Files. He also narrated the television special Isaac Newton: Pebbles of Truth. In recent years, he played Edgar in the movie American Pie Presents: Beta House. Tyrone is now part of the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre in Stratford, Ontario.

Character's Bio: Max Sutton

Max is a school teacher in New Bedford who grows very fond of Honey. Eventually he and Honey are married, but he faces initial resistance from her children and from May. Through the seasons, Honey’s children - Hub in particular- begin to trust Max and rely on him for support. Max and Honey ultimately have two more children; a biological son and an adopted daughter.

Actor's Bio: James Carroll

James Carroll is a music and theatre graduate of La Salle University and Villanova University. He is an actor with an impressive resume, having roles in such theatre productions as Guys and Dolls, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Metal Blues and White Blood. He has also starred in numerous television shows and films, including Wonderfalls, Hidden Room, Street Legal, Scales of Justice and The Gathering. In 2008, James appeared alongside screen legend Shirley MacLaine in Kevin Sullivan’s Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning.

Character's Bio: Honey Sutton

Honey is married to Jack Bailey and they own a small town hardware store. It is soon forced into bankruptcy when the bank halts their loan at the start of the Great Depression. Soon after, Jack dies in an accident and Honey is forced to leave her two sons with May Bailey (Jack’s mother), while her young daughter, Violet, is sent to live with distant relatives. Eventually, Honey remarries to a man named Max Sutton and soon gives birth to their son, Zach. Quickly after his birth, Honey is diagnosed with Tuberculosis and leaves for a sanatorium to recover. When she returns months later, Honey finds her children grown and the town worried about how her illness might affect them. Eventually she is able to recover her local hair salon and tries to move on with her life.

Actor's Bio: Laura Bruneau

Cynthia Bellvieau: Renowned for her many appearances in dramatic television series, Belliveau’s credits include fiery reporter Terry Morgan on ENG and Sally Rand in Million Dollar Babies. In 1998, she was nominated for a Gemini award for her role as Honey Sutton in Wind at My Back. The Calgary native’s most recent credit was a starring role on the popular children’s series Caitlin’s Way, which aired on the Nickelodeon channel.

Laura Bruneau: Known for her role as Kitty on the popular series Material World, Bruneau joined the cast of Wind at My Back in 2000. Her television credits include guest starring roles in The Outer Limits, Matrix, Street Legal and The Beachcombers. The Vancouver native is also an accomplished stage performer, having appeared in productions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Hot & Cold.

Character's Bio: Toppy Bailey

Toppy is married to Jack’s brother, Bob, and together they have a daughter named Doris. When Bob gets caught up in trying to save the mine from bankruptcy, he becomes irritable and Toppy eventually leaves him. They couple try to resolve their differences and save their marriage, but it ultimately ends in divorce.

Actor's Bio: Robin Craig

An accomplished stage, film, television and radio actor, Robin Craig’s resume includes three nominations for the Dora Mavor Moore Award, a nomination for an Academy Award for Life Times Nine and an ACTRA Award for her radio performance in Lies My Mother Told Me. She received the Gemini Award in 1998 for her role in Wind at My Back in the Best Supporting Actress category.

Robert Bockstael: Jim Flett

Natasha LaForce: Violet Bailey

Dougie Laforce: Zach Sutton

Kevin Sullivan: Executive Producer, Writer, Director

Kevin Sullivan is the President of Sullivan Entertainment Inc. which he and his partner, Trudy Grant, founded in 1979. Internationally recognized as one of the leading producers of high quality entertainment and renowned for his directorial ease with children and top performers, Mr. Sullivan has achieved myriad accolades and awards over the past two decades. His ability to consistently produce top-notch entertainment as well as to attract big name stars has enhanced the image of Sullivan Entertainment throughout the world.

Under Mr. Sullivan’s guidance Sullivan Entertainment has developed a distinctive brand of story-telling. Lavish productions that are emotionally compelling and entertaining have become the hallmark of the company Mr. Sullivan founded more than 20 years ago.

Trudy Grant: Co-Executive Producer

Trudy Grant is the President of Sullivan Entertainment International, which she founded in 1981. Through her leadership, the company has emerged as a major player in the world marketplace and particularly in the television arena.

Her involvement in distribution prompted her to form Sullivan Entertainment International to better administer the Sullivan product. The company’s penetration into many of the world’s less accessible markets makes it one of the few companies that can truly be considered international, having developed key relationships with buyers and financiers for various co-productions. One of Ms. Grant’s main achievements is the sale of the mini-series “Anne of Green Gables” to more than 120 countries around the globe.

Ms. Grant has evolved into the guiding light behind the company’s financial success. By strategically maximizing financial opportunities, Ms. Grant has built a very successful international business around the Sullivan brand.

Ken Jubenvill: Director

Ken Juvenvill was nominated for two Gemini Awards in 1989 for his work on the dramatic program, One Wolf, One Boy, One Summer. His other television credits include 21 episodes of Wind at My Back, Danger Bay, Lonesome Dove and most recently, The Force.

Raymond Storey: Writer

Raymond Storey has written for a number of Sullivan’s titles including Butterbox Babies, and Sleeping Dogs Lie. In addition, Raymonds recent credit is writing episodes of the Canadian TV drama The Guard.

Ruth Secord: Costume Designer

Sullivan Entertainment’s signature attention to detail and accuracy was helped put in place by veteran costume designer Ruth Secord, on Wind at My Back. She has worked with Kevin Sullivan over a number of years, which includes designing a vast array of costumes for his feature film, Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story. Secord’s television credits include the Sullivan productions Under the Piano, Wind at My Back, Promise the Moon, Butterbox Babies and Road to Avonlea. Her film work includes Blown Away, Oh, What a Night, Beautiful dreamers, and Johnny Mnemonic, and the recent television series The Border and Men with Brooms.

Don Gillis: Composer

Don is a three-time Gemini Award nominee who has contributed his musical talents to several of Kevin Sullivan’s productions, including Wind at my Back, A Wind at my Back Christmas, Road to Avonlea and An Avonlea Christmas. He was nominated for a Gemini for his compositions for two Road to Avonlea seasons in 1994 and 1995, as well as for the TV series Danger Bay. In addition, Gillis was the musical director of episodes of The Jim Henson Hour and was the musical director of Fraggle Rock – also created by Jim Henson.

Harvey Frost: Director

Harvey Frost directed the first few episodes of Wind at My Back - setting the tone and feeling for the many episodes to come. In addition to his work on the show, Frost was behind a number of episodes on Kevin Sullivan's Road to Avonlea series, including the episode that stars Ryan Gosling. He was also a director of the original Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place series.

Nancey Pankiw: Production Designer

Wind at My Back is not the only Sullivan Entertainment production to which Nancey Pankiw has brought her expertise in production design. The award winner designer also worked on Road to Avonlea, Lantern Hill, Butterbox Babies and By Way of the Stars. Some of Nancey’s other credits include the feature films The Fly, Dick, Chicago, Urban Legends: Final Cut, Cold Creek Manor, as well as the series Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy and Salem Witch Trials - for which she won a Directors Guild of Canada award for production design.

Financial hardships of the Great Depression hits Honey Bailey and her family, forever changing the life they had known.

It's the summer of 1932, and the Depression is taking its toll on the people of Ontario. Jack and Honey Bailey own a hardware store in North Bridge, and Jack - understanding the hardships of the townsfolk - provides credit to whoever needs it, which seems to be everybody. Honey is a little more business-oriented with their customers, but that does not prevent the hardware store from going under and the Baileys declaring bankruptcy. Honey's brother, Joe Callaghan, is not of much assistance to his sister's family as he too is just scraping by running his rooming house; he has often needed to live off his sister. Jack and Honey feel they have no choice but to ask Jack's family for support. Jack and Honey with their pre-teen sons Hubert (known as Hub), Henry (known as Fat) and infant Violet, decide to move to Jack's hometown of New Bedford to live in the abandoned Bailey family summer house located just outside of town at Bass Lake. New Bedford, a mining town, was founded by the Bailey family when they struck a lode of silver forty years earlier. To this day, the Baileys still control what happens in New Bedford. The Bailey family is ruled by its stern, no-nonsense and traditional matriarch, May - Jack's mother - who still owns Silver Dome mine. Jack's two siblings also still live in New Bedford: eldest son Bob (with his wife Toppy and daughter Doris) who, with an air of superiority, heads the administration of the mining company, and younger sister Grace - the sheltered spinster who still lives at home. Jack and Honey are not looking forward to life in New Bedford as they have no job prospects (Jack wants nothing to do with the mine). Jack has always been the black sheep of the family and May has never liked Honey primarily due to religious differences - the Baileys being stout Presbyterians and the Callaghans being Catholic. Jack and Honey are raising their children Catholic. Distance and time has not healed the rifts between Jack/Honey and the Baileys of New Bedford. Disaster strikes when shortly after their arrival at Bass Lake, Jack is killed in a freak accident. Beyond mutual mourning and grief, May offers no support to her impoverished daughter-in-law - which includes kicking her out of the summer house - as the two no longer have any formal ties. However, May wants to keep heirs Hub and Fat, and Violet is to live with Jack's childless cousin, while Honey re-establishes her life. Honey doesn't agree with this arrangement, but has neither the energy nor means to fight the powerful May Bailey. Honey's sole ally in the Bailey family is Grace. Reluctantly, Honey agrees to the situation, which angers her sons, and she goes back to North Bridge with Joe to earn enough to bring her family together again under one roof.

May struggles to handle the boys, especially a defiant Hub, who resolves to get he and his brother back to their mother. In North Bridge, Honey looks for work.

In North Bridge, Honey and Joe are just scraping by. Honey can't find a job but is determined, if only for the sake of her family. But she is no where near able yet to reunite them. In New Bedford, May admits that she sees the arrangement with all three children as being permanent. Despite warming up to their Aunt Grace, who personally can relate to the boys' situation, Hub and Fat are rebellious and Hub in particular is defiant. Bob thinks that splitting up the boys would be the best solution, but May is equally adamant that she and Grace can manage the boys. The boys decide to run off, their first choice being back to North Bridge to be with their mother. But when opportunity shows itself, they stow away a ride back to the summer house at Bass Lake. When May and Grace first find that the boys are missing, May is inclined to think that Honey apprehended them. Not wanting to give Bob the satisfaction of an 'I told you so', May instead sends a nervous and timid Grace to North Bridge to confront Honey. When Grace meets with Honey and finds that the boys aren't there, Honey is livid with May about her sons' disappearance. At the lake, the boys manage temporarily to live in the house unnoticed, until Max Sutton, New Bedford School's athletics director, runs into them. News of 'boys' at the house gets back to May, who rushes out to the lake. Max, May and mill workers from across the lake all descend on the house simultaneously just in time as Hub has had a serious accident requiring immediate medical attention and the boys have started a large uncontrolled fire in the house. May comes to the realization that the boys emotionally do need their mother and that Honey is not quite the monster she thought. May decides the best thing for everyone is for the boys to have bi-weekly visits with their mother and Uncle Joe back in North Bridge.

Honey continues to look for work as her brother struggles financially. The increasing number of transients and a rise in crime worries the townsfolk of New Bedford and riles May Bailey.

Honey's financial fortunes take a turn for the better as she finally gets a job, albeit a poorly paying one, as a bookkeeper/clerk at Molloy's Grocery Store. Even the boys have a job as George Murphy, one of the mine managers, is going away on a much needed vacation and needs someone to look after his dog, Pal. Joe's fortunes are not as good. The bank is foreclosing on the mortgage of his rooming house. He wants to start a catalog business, but obviously the bank won't lend him the money. He tells Honey that he is selling the rooming house to finance the catalog business. But in reality, he has lost everything and unscrupulous financiers are after him. So Joe secretly leaves North Bridge, leaving Honey to fend for herself. But Joe's problems are not as desperate as the many hobos who are descending on New Bedford. The town is split. Some, like Max and Grace, do whatever they can to help, whereas others like May and Bob want the hobos just to leave town. May believes her case is supported when she thinks a hobo, who appeared at her back step, stole her purse. She does not believe his sob story about an ailing son. And a robbery occurs at the bank, again attributed to the transients. When a reward is offered for the return of the robbery money, Hub and Fat think they can find it by looking around the railway tracks where the hobos are hanging out. There, they meet Patrick Mullen, the hobo who was at May's back door. The boys and Patrick are involved in two incidents - the latter results in a death, which may look like Patrick's fault. Although the boys ultimately defend Patrick to May and the authorities, both sides of the issue are still adamant on their position of what desperate hobos are capable. To protect Patrick, their savior, Hub and Fat tell Patrick and his ailing son, Luke, that it’s best to leave town, providing Patrick with a little pocket money. The boys also find out what happened to May's purse, which needless to say was not stolen by Patrick.

Honey suffers a financial setback. May suggests that Grace learn to drive. And Max organizes an athletic event.

Honey's economic fortunes take a turn for the worse again. The bank is increasing the rent on the apartment, and she loses her job at Molloy's Grocery Store. She is thinking of moving to faraway Toronto, where she suspects there are more jobs than in North Bridge. She needs the company of her children now more than ever. However, May is threatening to decrease the boys' visits to North Bridge to once a month, in part because she wants to shield Grace from the company of a high school beau, Judd Wainwright, with whom Grace got reacquainted on the bus trip to North Bridge and who May never liked. And since Grace doesn't know how to drive, there is no other means of transport. May's effort to teach Grace to drive was a disaster. The lesson resulted in a car crash requiring expensive repairs to May's car, and May landed in the hospital for an extended stay with a concussion. The boys, wanting more than ever to be with their mother, try to earn enough money for it to happen. They think they've come up with the perfect plan when Max is threatened by the school board with cutting of the athletics program: they should hold an intercity Boys Olympics sponsored by local businesses, including the newspaper - the New Bedford Chronicle - owned by Alden Cramp. The showcase of the Olympics is to be the 12-boy human pyramid and the winning team will split a $60 first prize. Hub and Fat are certain the New Bedford team can win. The boys' training goes up and down, but ultimately it looks as if the New Bedford team has a real shot of winning. On the weekend of the Olympics, Honey is in desperate need of her boys' company to maintain a positive outlook on life. Although the boys initially aren't going to go to North Bridge due to the need for last minute training, they feel they need to support their mother more. With no other way to get there, Grace decides to drive. With Judd's assistance, they make it to North Bridge in one piece. Seeing how financially desperate Honey is, Grace decides that the $25 for the car repairs would better go to Honey. Although the $25 is May's money, Grace will deal with the consequences of May's wrath later. But the next issue is to make it back to New Bedford in time for the Olympics, which is a problem, as Grace is directionally challenged, not to mention that she has no idea what the "E" and "F" on the car's fuel gauge means. Regardless, the boys make it back in time, the Olympics end up having a positive effect on Max, as well as the boys and the school board.

Pal the dog causes frustration for May.

It's nearing the end of summer 1933 and with it comes the annual Farewell to Summer Dance. The kids are planning on having a good time, with a friendly wager struck between partners Hub/Alice and Fat/Maisey on which couple will win the junior ballroom dance contest. Ollie is hoping to take Grace to the dance. Afraid that she still thinks of him only as a friend, Ollie enlists Del as his mentor in wooing Grace. Del ghost writes some romantic letters for Ollie to Grace, which she loves. Things are not going as well for Bob. Toppy has returned to New Bedford to ask Bob for a divorce. She still loves Bob but does not want to take second place in his life to the mine. Things at the mine are in dire straits as the bank will soon foreclose on its loan and stop credit if the mine's new vein does not produce within two weeks. Bob pressures the mine workers into drilling and blasting quicker into the vein, which is against the advice of the mine's explosives man, Gene MacFarlane, Alice's father. Gene officially voices his opposition to Bob's directive. Because of the aggressive blasting and poor materials, a serious accident occurs and Gene looks to be permanently blinded. Bob thinks it a good idea for the family to lay low because of the public outcry regarding the accident, but May refuses to hide. The entire Bailey clan does end up going to the dance, but their presence places a noticeable tension on the festivities, especially between the MacFarlanes and Baileys. But Bob has ulterior motives in attending the dance – but he only tells the to Grace before executing his plan.

Honey must go further to look for work. Hub takes on a weekend job at a farm, while Fat participates in the visiting Chautauqua show.

Honey has moved to Toronto, looking for new job prospects. She manages to get work in a garment factory as a seamstress, but the hours are long and the conditions harsh. Because of the conditions and being worn out, Honey comes down with a chest infection and is fired from work. She is even more destitute when the hospital won't let her stay since she can't pay. Back in New Bedford, everyone is unaware of Honey's situation. May thinks that it would be good for Hub to learn some responsibility and so Bob gets him a job on Wick Thompson's farm on weekends doing haying. It is also long hours. There, he bunks with Harry Bloomington, an older Englishman who keeps to himself during their off-hours. Harry mentors Hub, who enjoys the cooperative nature of a farmer's family life. When the farm goes under, Hub learns about humility and fairness from Wick and Harry. And Fat also gets a temporary job, in a Chatauqua show passing through New Bedford. Fat loves the life of being on stage, and wants to aspire to being like Brambly Wilson, the show's star. But Fat learns that Brambly is a regular human being, affected by the Depression as much as the next person. Meanwhile, Grace learns of Honey's situation and tries to convince May that Honey's presence is the best thing for Hub and Fat.

Honey adapts to her new life and job. A local policeman is attracted to Honey. Hub and Fat seek to catch a bootlegger.

Honey is back in New Bedford, living in May's house with the boys, and working in the mine office under Bob's supervision. On the invitation of Honey's co-worker, Marjorie Behan, Honey joins Marjorie's informal social grouping of single friends. Not specifically looking for a new man in her life, Honey nonetheless attracts the attention of a couple of men. The one who seems to have her initial affections is Percy Ardley, a constable with the New Bedford Police Department. Percy is a proper Englishman with, to use Fat's description, a swelled head. Most of the men in the singles group, including Max and Archie, have the same impression of Percy. Marjorie, slightly jealous, warns Honey that if she is looking for a new husband, Percy is not the man for her as he is a wanderer and not stable husband material. May and the rest of the Baileys aren't too happy with what they see as Honey's cavorting because they feel it taints the Bailey name and demeans the memory of Jack. It isn't until Hub and Fat get into a predicament with a crazed moonshiner, Old Bones, that Honey sees the pompous, arrogant side of Percy that others see. Perhaps the other man who is vying for Honey's attention, Max Sutton, might now have an opportunity with her. The fact that he broke the law for her to help save Hub and Fat is a point in his favor.

Honey and Grace help Max adapt one of his unsold radio plays for the local drama society, only to see it consume Aunt Toppy’s life.

Max, the new English teacher and aspiring playwright, is encouraged by Honey and Grace to submit a one-act play to National Public Radio for their serialized mystery program with the chance of winning one of three prizes of a new Packard. Although Max does not win, he gets an encouraging rejection letter asking for more submissions from him for one-act plays. Since the rejection was due to what the radio station characterized as wooden dialog, Honey and Grace think that Max would benefit by having his play actually performed on stage so that he can listen to real people speaking his words. The obvious choice for the theater company to perform the play is the New Bedford Amateur Dramatic League. However, the League is no longer in existence, and they would have to ask the former president to resurrect the company. This situation causes a potential problem as the former president is snobbish Toppy, who has no use for Honey. But a good play and the stage is more important to Toppy than her feelings toward her former sister-in-law. The play is to be directed by Max, but is ultimately run by Toppy as League president, who insists on playing the lead. Toppy feels that she can relate to the character's stifled existence. Toppy is being ignored at home, while still being controlled by Bob, who is preoccupied with work and is wary of Toppy's frivolous activities. The production has other problems, including a temperamental set designer, a temperamental costumer, a shy leading man (Archie) and love scenes between the leads. Toppy is a respectable wife and her husband would be embarrassed and humiliated by her kissing another man in public. The on-stage romance seems to be spilling into real life, which is at least opening Archie out of his shell, but it gets the whole town's collective tongue wagging. The only tongue not wagging is Bob’s. He is oblivious to what's going on since his only concern is business. However, when Bob finally sees the show and watches his wife kiss another man so realistically, Toppy doesn't get the reaction that everyone was anticipating. As for the original reason for mounting the production, Max may not have got what he intended, but at least he got to spend time with Honey.

Complications and a disapproving May threaten Grace’s secret plans to attend an out-of-town wedding with Jud.

May's latest town project is opening a mission to assist the down and out in New Bedford. However, this worthwhile project does have its detractors, such as Max, as the mission is only available to townsfolk and not to the many transients passing through town. And as the mission is reaping all the town's donations, Max's soup kitchen for the transients is no longer getting any donations. Meanwhile, Grace is invited on her first official date with Judd Wainwright to a mutual friend's out-of-town wedding. Grace really wants to go but doesn't want to tell her mother the reason why she wants to go so badly. May won't let her go only because she needs Grace's help at the mission. But May, who still doesn't approve of Judd solely based on his financial standing, suspects Grace's desire to go is because of Judd. Although Grace tries to tell her mother the truth, May doesn't budge in her feelings. May has her eye on Reverend Peterson as a suitor for Grace, though he does not appeal to Grace as a potential husband at all. As such, Grace - with accomplices Honey, Max, Hub and Fat - deceives May so that she can sneak away with Judd to the wedding. But just as Grace and Judd board the train, May catches them. Grace decides to board the train anyway, which is her first act of direct defiance against her mother. This is only the first of two heartbreaking events for May, as some hobos, retaliating against May for her lack of charity, vandalize the mission just before its opening. But the heartbreaking incidents give time for May to think about her actions, just in time for apologies from Grace and Judd, and a hopeful question from Judd to May.

Trouble ensues when Uncle Joe makes a surprise visit to New Bedford; Honey and the boys continue their battle to bring baby Violet home.

Joe Callaghan, Honey's brother, makes an inauspicious return to New Bedford. He is now totally down and out. In the six months since Joe absconded with Honey's savings - six months in which Honey has not heard from him - he has dabbled in various businesses, some legitimate and some not so legitimate, but none have panned out. Although May helps Joe get out of the New Bedford jail after an altercation with Sergeant Stoneman, she treats him like any other hobo and wants him to leave town. However, Joe has other ideas. He wants to be with family and has holed up in an empty farmhouse on the outskirts of town. He wants himself and Honey to buy the house, which only requires a $50 down payment. Although Honey doesn't trust Joe, she does buy into the dream so that she can be out from under May's control and ultimately get Violet back. Honey seems to be heading in the right direction financially when she stumbles upon a home hairdressing business, if only May will let her use her kitchen as a makeshift salon. Hub and Fat also do whatever they can to raise the money to buy the house. Fat's idea actually results in a $10 windfall. However, the $10 mistakenly gets to May who, unaware that it was for Honey, donates it to a needy family at the mission. Honey, Hub and Fat realize that the money is better with the family that received it. As May realizes that she also made an error, she decides to temporarily support Honey in her hairdressing business. Meanwhile, trouble has followed Joe to New Bedford, and to escape these troubles, Joe, with Hub's assistance, secretly leaves New Bedford as quickly as he came. However, Honey continues Joe's dream of saving money to possibly buy that house.

The boys concoct some hair-brained schemes to raise money for Honey’s birthday present; May gets into hot water when fundraising proceeds go missing.

Honey's birthday is approaching and the boys want to get her something special. Instead of a little knick-knack, Hub thinks the best gift is a visit from Violet. This gift may prove to be difficult to get, as May will not allow it. Hub, with Max's help, drives three hours to Hugh and Matilda's to convince them of his plan. Although Matilda eventually gives in, Hugh, Matilda and May obviously don't have any intention of giving Violet back to Honey beyond this visit. Hub and Fat then need to raise some money for the round trip bus fare for Matilda and Violet. Coinciding with this event, May and her women's volunteer group are deciding on a fund-raising event for the mission. When Honey inadvertently contradicts May in front of the group, Honey is placed further in May's bad books as the group goes with Dottie Grady's idea of a bake sale rather than May's idea of a winter carnival. Although they do proceed with the bake sale idea, May goes behind the group's back to organize a winter carnival with Reverend Peterson. However, the Reverend has ideas of his own, which places May in an embarrassing and bad light: he embezzles and absconds with the mission's entire fund. Although May does replace all the embezzled money, she is ashamed to face the townsfolk, especially as she was the person who hired Reverend Peterson. The women, realizing they do need May's organizational and financial skills, extend an olive branch to her, which takes time for her to accept. The collective decide to combine the two ideas and have a street party. As part of this party, Fat is allowed to raise money for the bus fare by running a miniature snow golf course. The street party and the golf course are a success. Honey's surprise birthday party is also a success, except for the fact that Matilda, with May's approval, reneges on her agreement to bring Violet. But Grace takes matters into her own hands and does the next best thing for Honey under the circumstances.

Hub has trouble with school and gets involved with a bad crowd.

Grace receives some devastating news for her ego. Judd has decided to call off the wedding, as he is moving west to British Columbia without her. He did not feel that he and the Bailey family were a good match. But Grace, feeling humiliated, decides not to tell anyone, and even buys herself an engagement ring to continue with the façade. Honey inadvertently gives Grace an idea of how to escape her troubles. Meanwhile, Hub, still continuing with his never-ending quest to earn money for the "bring Violet home" fund, lets this single-mindedness affect all else in his life. It affects his school work the most, and he fails the 6th grade. He asks Max not to tell Honey as he wants to tell her himself; But he never does. Hub's latest money-making venture is with a band of older boys who call themselves the Midnight Movers. The Midnight Movers, likening themselves to Robin Hood, assist people in bilking their landlord of rent money. In these times, first month is free, the second month the renter tells the landlord he is on relief and the third month, the Midnight Movers help him move just before rent is due. What Hub does not know is that many of those he has helped move are in debt to his grandmother. After the many secrets are revealed one by one and after a serious incident involving Hub, May comes to the conclusion that the way she has managed the lives of her grandsons, Honey and even Grace and Jack, may have been totally misguided.

With Honey away at a hairdressing course, Fat learns that Matilda and Hugh plan to leave the country with Violet.

Despite May giving the boys her assurance that she will let Violet come back home, Honey and the boys continue with their preoccupation with the 'bring Violet back home' fund since they do not trust May to keep her word. In an effort to expand her hairdressing business, Honey decides to go to a 2-day course in North Bridge to get her hairdressing diploma. And Hub and Fat take more direct measures by going to speak to Mr. Walker, the bank manager, about a creative solution in buying the house. Hub's single-mindedness with getting Violet back continues to affect his school work, until another distraction enters his life – an 8th grade tutor, Suzanne Nelson - on whom Hub has a crush. Honey also writes to Hugh and Matilda kindly thanking them for their guardianship of Violet but that she would like Violet home now. The reaction to this letter does reveal May and the Morrison's true plans, that the Morrisons want to adopt Violet and take her away to Florida. May wants Honey around if only for her grand plans for the boys' future at the mine. Fat overhears the truth and with Suzanne's help, the boys manage to bring Violet back to New Bedford before the Morrisons can leave for Florida. This sparks an all out war between May and Honey, the latter - with all three of her children - decides to leave May's house and life forever, if possible. She turns to the only person she can, Max. However, Max is also on May's bad side and his future in New Bedford is uncertain. The arrival of Honey and her family on his doorstep worsens matters as scandal erupts in town. Honey is in financial straits again as Bob, in solidarity, fires her from the mine and none of her regular hairdressing customers will let her do their hair anymore in not wanting to go against May. Besides Max, the only other person in town on Honey's side is Grace, who openly defies her mother in every turn in this battle. May does whatever she can to thwart Honey's plans, and also decides to sue for custody of all three children. Before the custody hearing, Hub manages to tell his story in a straightforward and heartfelt manner to the town, which may turn the tide of public opinion toward Honey and her family.