The year is 1765, and there's a lot going on in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Stamp Act has just been passed, and many colonists are protesting it because nobody knows what it will mean to the colonies as a whole. Twelve-year-old Nancy Geddy is concerned that the act will make her friend Tom lose his apprenticeship at the Geddy family's foundry.

Besides that, Nancy has her own problems. Her stepmother, Elizabeth, is making Nancy's life miserable with her constant complaining and criticism. Nothing Nancy does is good enough for her. Now Elizabeth's difficult pregnancy is threatening to ruin Nancy's opportunity to attend her grandmother's Christmas ball. Will Nancy find a way to accept Elizabeth's different ways and come to love her as a mother?