Joseph Stagg is a lonely, grouchy middle-aged man living with his housekeeper, "Aunt Rose", in a New England village. A prominent merchant in town, one day he gets a letter notifying him that his sister and brother-in-law have been lost in a shipwreck. He takes in his sister's daughter Carolyn and her dog, Prince. Carolyn meets Amanda Parlow, a local woman, and discovers that Amanda and her Uncle Joe had an affair years ago, and its breakup left Joe hurt and bitter. Carolyn resolves to get them back together, but a forest fire that breaks out in the mountains where Amanda and Carolyn are staying puts her plans, and her life, in danger.