Family patriarch Lee Parton makes sacrifices to have enough money to buy his wife the wedding ring he could never afford. The children also sacrifice their own Christmas presents to give their mother this special gift. Dolly's Uncle Billy helps her begin to see that her voice and talent might extend beyond rural Tennessee. Various crisis situations, some life-threatening, make the family's Christmas a challenge.
''Coat of Many Colors'' details Dolly Parton's upbringing in 1955 as her family struggles to live in Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains, putting a strain on love and faith. Dolly (Alyvia Alyn Lind) aspires to be something greater but must cope with family troubles, including the premature birth and death of a baby brother. Dolly's mother, Avie Lee Parton (Jennifer Nettles) uses the baby's blanket to make Dolly her patchwork coat of many colors. Although Dolly is at first proud of it, she changes her mind after school bullies make fun of her. Meanwhile, Dolly's father, Lee Parton (Ricky Schroder) suffers a personal crisis brought about by the baby's death combined with the depression of his wife and a drought which threatened his tobacco crop. Eventually, faith brings the family together again.