Lydia, a young Amish girl, lives on a farm near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. All summer long she has worked on a small hooked mat, her first piece, that must be finished before she can go to market with her father. In spite of her best efforts, Lydia is much more interested in the wagon coming down the road; in the stories Granny tells, in stopping at Cousin Lavina's, who is making apple butter; in holding the new baby at Cousin Kate's; and even in chasing Nate's runaway pig.