Following the deaths of his wife and child, struggling author Cameron Garrett Brooks returns to his childhood home of Millsburg to write about the town and its people, but finds the town of his youth has changed. An old acquaintance seeks to convince him the town is still worth writing about.
Millsburg is a quiet conservate little town. Nothing exciting ever happens here. Is their prim and proper schoolteacher, Wilma Henderson starting a romantic relationship with the sporty hotel clerk, Harry McGil? Cameron begins to wonder when he catches the two of them in intimate conversation.
Chris' cousin, Dr. John Neldrum returns to Millsburg after a long absence and wants to set up his medical practice there. However, business is extremely slow because it seems the good doctor has quite a prior reputation as a partying prankster, and the townspeople have trouble taking him seriously.
Cameron Brooks has decided that chapter four in his novel will be about the hotel's chambermaid, Lavinia Webster.
Leonard Greenough, son of a gas-station operator, wants to go to college. But his father doesn't see any sense in it and blames Cameron for putting the idea into his son's head.
Young Arny Logan and his pals suddenly take a keen interest in the old abandoned Stoddard house in Millsburg. The house is alleged to be haunted, and there are indeed some pretty convincing images of ghosts in the house's broken windows. Cameron & Lloyd decide to camp out in the old place just to judge for themselves if the building really has apparitions. They do indeed discover what makes the ghostly images in the windows, but decide not to tell anyone else about their discovery just to keep the charm and mystery of the old place going.
The editor's daughter, Evelyn, wants to get married to Roy, much to her father's chagrin. So, the young couple plans to elope - with the help of Cameron Garrett Brooks (Robert Young) who, while appearing to be helping, is actually planting seeds of doubt into the young couples' mind. They get as far as using a ladder for the elopement before backing out and deciding to wait.
Cam teaches a young man how to spend money.
Editor Ramsey is always getting letters from readers, but this time he gets a difficult one from a young boy. It reads: "I know that God started the world, but who started God?"
Cameron finds the nervous young man who broke into his room hiding on the balcony. He learns it's Elroy's first robbery and it only got him $1.19. After talking with him, Cameron decides the would-be thief is just a confused youth deserving of a second chance.
On Christmas Eve, Cameron remembers an argument he had with his late wife concerning the butter churn she gave him as a Christmas present and how they subsequently made up and pledged to be together in spirit during the holidays even if they are separated. Cameron chances to meet Ludwig, his hotel's janitor, who is feeling depressed by his own feelings.
Cam receives an envelope containing some poems written in a child's handwriting, and signed by someone named Alicia Stroud.