To find a better life for his family, the Ingalls move to Iowa, selling their homestead to the Carter family, who are moving from New York City to find a simpler life. Laura announces her resignation from the Walnut Grove school to raise Rose, while Almanzo's brother, Royal, arrives with his daughter, Jenny, and a devastating secret: he is terminally ill, and the true reason he came back to Walnut Grove is to give her a chance to know who would become her adopted parents.