A boy, Buddy, whose parents have split and whose mother is an actress in New York, has been dumped in the south at the small-town home of some older cousins, all of whom are unmarried. Buddy brings life to the house and develops a close friendship with one of the older, simpler ladies, Sook. Buddy and Sook undertake many adventures together, including the baking of 31 fruit-cakes which they give as Christmas presents, even mailing them to President and Mrs.