A jobless man takes his family across the country to a small town called Chicory Creek in the state of Kentucky, where he was promised work, only to discover the man who offered employment has died, leaving them in dire straits.

While travelling through Colordado, the Greene clan works overtime to persuade a high-school basketball coach to forgo his move to New Zealand when he becomes disillusioned with his faith in America.

In Evanston, Wyoming, Claire encourages a musically-gifted boy to continue playing the guitar, despite the objections of his mother, who doesn't want him to follow the same path that killed his father.

While passing through Arkansas, the Greene family looks to rebuild the lost faith of an embittered motel owner by repairing her run-down business. Meanwhile, Nathaniel steals a gun from the motel office.

While the Greene family visits Claire's great Aunt Mooster who's celebrating her 100th birthday in Pueblo, Colorado, Russell encourages a man to step forward and take action against his employer for dumping toxic waste at a local landfill site.

While visiting a small town in West Virginia, Russell intervenes when he discovers Nathaniel's favorite author is a morphine addict and that her fellow townspeople refuse to offer any assistance because of the bad publicity it would generate for the town.

The Greenes take a detour, courtesy of Dinah's navigation, and wind up in Roswell, New Mexico, at the A-Lee-Inn Cafe, a hangout for UFO-seekers, where they encounter eccentric people who gather every year for an alien-sighting event. Meanwhile, Russell learns the secret of an astronaut's disappearance.

The Greenes camping excursion in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina is interrupted when a young girl becomes lost and Russell sees Dinah in a new light when she uses her mapping & trail skills to locate the child. Meanwhile, Nathaniel and Hattie search for buried treasure.

The Greenes arrive in Pennsylvania, where as a teacher, Claire is confided in by a teenage girl that she was pregnant but suffered a miscarriage. Claire and Russell emphasize with the teen as they recall a similar loss of their own years earlier.

The Greenes return to Chicory Creek, Kentucky, to join their good friend, Erasmus Jones for Thanksgiving, but it's anything but festive when Nathaniel's mother arrives with the intention of reclaiming her son, now that her life is in order.

While recovering from the fire that destroyed their trailer, the Greenes have a run-in with some scam artists travelling through Chicory Creek. Meanwhile, Hattie is swept off her feet by a mysterious man, and Josh gets a haircut.

It's an affair to remember for Claire when she goes home for Christmas and discovers that her mother once had a romantic tryst with Claire's favorite grade-school teacher.

The Greenes are on their way to Cheyenne, Colorado when they stop to help a woman, Ellen Boller whose car has broken down on the road. Hattie becomes concerned when she notices bruises on the woman's young daughter, Sarah. Russell and Claire confront the mother and learn that she's running away from an abusive husband -- who happens to be the town sheriff (Sheriff Boller). While returning the girl's doll, Russell witnesses the abuse through the window, breaks into their house and rescues the woman and her daughter. Sheriff Boller keeps the Greenes under house arrest in their trailer until Russell returns his wife and daughter. Meanwhile, Ellen arranges for her sister-in-law Pauline to get proof of the abuse in the form of a videotape in order to prosecute. Along the way, we learn that Sheriff Boller has a long history of fear and intimidation to his credit. Boller intercepts a note and foils their plans. He takes Russell and Ellen for the proverbial ""ride"" and nearly executes them unti

The Greenes travel to Great Falls, Montana to visit Russell's cousin, Jeff, and his wife, Marie--and meet their six-month-old baby, Hailey. Jeff and Marie's marriage is under increasing strain since Hailey's birth and becoming legal guardian of Jeff's twenty-year old brother, Bob, who has Down's Syndrome. Part of the problem is that Jeff has not been attentive to his wife's needs--who is now overwhelmed. Worse still, Bob has become the scapegoat for all their problems. When Hattie learns that Jeff and Marie haven't had a night to themselves in six months, she insists they spend the night elsewhere while the Greenes watch Hailey and Bob. Claire notices that Bob is actually quite capable of helping with the baby--and has been wanting to have a greater role in his niece's life. Jeff and Marie return the next day, refreshed--and resolved to put Bob in an institution. Bob overhears the conversation and flees. Nathaniel finds him hiding beneath a pile of clothes in the trailer and pleads wit

Excited about their upcoming anniversary and having Claire all to himself, Russell embraces her tightly to dance. This causes Claire to wince and later in the shower she discovers a painful lump in her breast. The following day Claire slips away to a local women's hospital alone. There she becomes fast friends with Rachel, a young woman she meets in the waiting room. Rachel becomes really shaken after learning she must face the mastectomy of her left breast. Everything's changed for her now. She's scared. Angry. Rachel decides to break things off with David, her fiancé. Claire consoles her on their drive home. Once at the trailer park, Claire gently finds the words to tell Russell of her own ordeal. At the hospital with Russell for the first time, Claire's mastectomy proves inconclusive. She must undergo a biopsy. The entire family is told of what Claire is facing. Josh and Dinah are quietly alarmed. Nathaniel is very vocal about not wanting Claire in the hospital where ""people go to d

In spite of Hattie's protest, Russell picks up day labor working in a mine. Concerned for her son's safety, Hattie makes it perfectly clear that she doesn't approve. Fighting to stay on top of their orders and meet deadlines and low on manpower, taxed to the limit, it's a crisis waiting to happen. A support beam gives way, causing the mine to collapse, trapping twelve miners, including Russell. Her worst fears confirmed, Hattie is beside herself with worry–as are the rest of the family. Meanwhile, Russell struggles to keep the crew in the right frame of mind to weather the crisis. While in the mine, fighting for survival Russell is visited by his deceased father. Somewhere between dream and reality, Russell has a chance to clear away some unfinished business between he and his father. Finally, the rescue teams break through to the other side. The men (and woman) emerge weary survivors singing the inspirational song ""Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.""

While in Washington, Dinah and Hattie get lost in a bad part of town on the way home from the market and stumble across a teenage girl named Allison sleeping on the streets. They bring Allison back to the trailer to learn that she is a runaway who has been separated from her brother Tommy through the bureaucracies of the local children's services agency. Russell and Claire contact an overworked social worker named Linda Paxton to help reunite Allison with her brother. Russell pays a visit to Tommy's last foster parent, Barbara Manning, who informs him that Tommy is dead. Russell and Claire break the new to Allison. Allison convinces Josh to take her to Barbara Manning to find out how Tommy died. Barbara tells Allison that her brother took his life. She tries to fill in some of the missing pieces but is finally at a loss to explain what led Tommy to take his life. Allison runs off and hitches a ride to the rail overpass where Tommy committed suicide. Nathaniel manages to distract Alliso

After the shooting, Mary and Dr. Hall scramble to help their friends and loved ones. The luncheonette owner learns the .45 Mr. Kim possessed was a record, not a weapon, but both are aghast to notice her own wound from a stray bullet. Meanwhile, Tess returns to Russell and tells him Josh needs his family. The Greenes arrive and are horrified to discover he had been shot. When the surgery is over, the doctor reports the teenager will recover, though he has been blinded. Calvin and Chanice, however, receive devastating news: their grandmother has died. Russell is astounded to learn that Anderson – a former adversary from this time in the Navy – is the one who saved Josh. Serena rails at Michael, blaming for the tragic events. But buoyed by Queenie's encouragement and Monica's revelation, Michael decides to stay with his new ""family,"" feeling like he belongs for the first time in his life. Anderson, likewise inspired by Russell to regain his passion, gives a rousing eulogy at Mary

The Greenes go to Post Falls, Idaho to place Josh in a special institute for the blind, and visit some old friends from North Carolina, Ned and Eileen Bernhart. Ned sets Russell up with an interview at the company where he works, Post Falls Furniture. Russell seems a shoe-in for a machine room supervisor position. Though Hattie reminds him about his ""directive"" from the angels, Russell finds a way to rationalize the idea of settling down, perhaps buying a house. Russell is thrown for a loop when he realizes he's been passed over for a younger, less qualified applicant. Then Ned gets the news that he's been ""downsized"" out of his job despite a stellar record of job performance for nine years. Russell convinces Ned to consult a lawyer about possible age discrimination. Though inexperienced, Joel Corwin, fresh out of law school, is the right man for the price. Eileen is more concerned about losing the four months severance package Ned's been offered. And sure enough, the ""suits"" threaten

A conflict has erupted as a mining company is in the process of tearing down Lester Beneally's hogan (ceremonial place). The tribal police (some of whom are Native Americans themselves) try to enforce the relocation papers they claim he signed before his death. Raymond (Lester's son) swears the signature is forged, and is trying to do everything in his power to stop them. When U.S. Marshals arrive to force the confrontation, Jesse Rainbird (Raymond's cousin and a tribal officer caught in the middle, torn between the law he is hired to enforce and his own heritage) tries to mediate a peaceful intervention–but instead is forced to watch his cousin gunned down by government forces. Russell wakes from a dream with a premonition that his old friend Jesse is in trouble. Only a couple hundred miles from the reservation, Russell and Claire decide to forgo their plans for a family trip to the Grand Canyon to visit Jesse and his family. Once they arrive, Jesse's wife, Rena, explains that Jesse i

With the help of Russell and Claire, a woman forces a young boy to face his anti-semitic acts by telling him about her own family's past. Meanwhile, Josh faces a similar situation when he dates a girl who's Jewish.

The Greenes must convince a grieving rancher to go on with his life following the accidental death of his wife, or else the man risks losing his ranch and the love of his teenage son.

Russell's job hauling lumber separates him and Dinah from the rest of the family who then fail to arrive at an appointed meeting site.

A social worker, who's also Nathaniel's Little League coach reports the Greenes for child neglect after Russell rebuffs her advances, leading to a judge's order that the boy be removed from their care.

The social worker who accused the Greenes of child negligence, faces the same charge when her own son runs away from home with Nathaniel, saying he blames her for the death of his twin brother.