When Lydia Hoffman, owner of A Good Yarn, offers a class in knitting socks, Elise Beaumont, a self--contained and efficient divorced woman in her sixties, appears. Embroiled in a lawsuit, she has little patience with the foibles of others. Meanwhile, Bethanne Hamlin's husband left her for another woman on Valentine's Day. Bethanne's spent her life making a good home for her family, and now, bereft of self-esteem and support, she has to find a job.

And, finally, there's Courtney Pulanski, who's come to live with her grandmother for her senior year of high school. After her mother's death four years ago, Courtney went a little wild and stuffed all her emotions down with food; now she's alone, overweight, and unhappy. But soon an unbreakable bond is formed among the knitters in this sweet and poignant story of real women with real problems becoming real friends.