The Ingalls family decides to leave Big Woods, Wisconsin and go to Kansas where there will be better land for them to settle. Along the way, their dog, Jack, gets washed away in the river. Their closest neighbor is Mr. Edwards, who helps them settle on the prairie and they celebrate Christmas together. Soon, the family encounters Indians and realize that this was not how they thought their journey would turn out.
The Ingalls family moves into Plum Creek near the town of Walnut Grove. Charles Ingalls builds a home for his family. With limited funds for buying seed and a plow for his farm, Charles negotiates some working deals with the local seed store and lumber yard to get the materials he needs to start his farm. Charles’ honest nature and good work ethics earn him many friends in Walnut Grove. When Charles gets hurt on a family outing and is unable to finish a work contract, his family and new friends step up to help him so he doesn’t loose the family’s team of oxen.
It's time for Laura and Mary to start school and that is where they meet up with Nellie Oleson, who frequently refers to them as "country girls". Since Laura has never been to school before, she has too work hard to get her schoolwork finished. The students have to write an essay to present in front of the class. However, Laura is worried because she does not know how to write and does not know what she will do.
The family crop is doing very well, that is until a major hailstorm comes through Walnut Grove and ruins it all. This means that Charles and some of the towns other farmers must leave to seek work in a quarry almost 100 miles away to feed their families. While away, Caroline decides to get the women together and find a way to harvest the remaining crops.
When Charles is making a delivery in Mankato, he runs into Mr. Edwards and brings him back to Walnut Grove to see the family. When they arrive, Caroline thinks that he and the widow Snider would be a great couple and tries to get them to date. However, Mr. Edwards is able to get Grace to notice him by himself.
When Johnny Johnson arrives in town and starts going to school, Laura develops a crush on him. However, her heart is broken when she finds out that he only has eyes for Mary, who could care less about him.
When a friend of Miss Amy dies before she could see her children and grandchildren one last time, she convinces Doc Baker, Charles and ultimately Caroline to help her fake her death in order to bring her family to see her. Once their plan is put into effect, Miss Amy reveals to her friends and family that it was just a ploy to bring them all together before she dies.
When Mary and Laura are invited to a party at Nellie's house, Laura becomes fast friends with Olga, a lonely schoolmate. When she finds out that Olga has one leg shorter than the other, Charles helps out by making a shoe that will help her walk without a limp. Her father is furious at Charles for butting into his family's life, but quickly changes his mind once he sees Olga playing with the other children and having a fun time.
When Charles and Caroline go on a second honeymoon, their plans are almost cut short, when Grace is unable to care for the girls. Fortunately, Mr. Edwards arrives as they get close to calling off their trip, and agrees to take care of Mary, Laura, and Carrie. However Charles and Caroline have their honeymoon cut short, with Caroline's constant worrying about what could go wrong at home, while Mr. Edwards is busy chasing Carrie around the farm.
Miss Beadle ends up accidentally spraining her ankle and there is no teacher. However, it turns out that Caroline studied to be one and she is soon a substitute for the school. While there, Caroline begins to help out an older student, Abel, when she discovers he does not know how to read. Mrs. Oleson soon finds out and embarrasses Abel and he leaves the school. Caroline, in turn, decides to quit leaving school one again teacher-less.
Laura finds a baby raccoon she names Jasper and against his better judgment, Charles decides to let her "adopt" it. After being placed in a cage, the raccoon bites Laura and Jack and then runs off. The family then wonders if the two will end up with rabies.
The town becomes divided after Mrs. Oleson wants to by a bell for the church, but only if she can have a plaque with her name on it. The arguing soon affects the school children and they try to come up with their own solution, with the help of the mute craftsman Tinker Jones.
Mary hopes to win an award for doing the best on the optional history test Miss Beadle is offering. However while studying, Mary accidentally knocks over a lamp in the barn and starts a minor fire. For her punishment, Caroline tells her that she will not allow her to take the exam, leaving Mary heartbroken.
Caroline becomes pregnant and after the baby boy is born, Laura becomes extremely jealous of Charles' love for his only son. However, the baby soon becomes ill and Laura begins to blame herself.
After wishing her brother would die because she was so jealous of him, Laura is consumed with grief when the poor child actually does die. She then decides to run away because she does not want her family to blame her for his death. She runs to a mountain, where she soon meets an old man who tells her that he can help her deal with all her feelings.
The Ingalls celebrate their first Christmas at Plum Creek, but money is very tight. However, the family decide to secretly find ways to get the Christmas presents they want for each other, even though it means letting some items precious to them go.
After disagreeing over the price that should be paid to Caroline for the eggs she brings in, Harriet and Nels decide to part ways and Nels moves in above the Post Office. After a few days, the people of Walnut Grove do their best to bring the Olsen's back together.
When Harriet's nice Kate comes to visit, she and Doc Baker fall in love with each other. However, after seeing how Kate plays with Mary and Laura at dinner one night, the doctor realizes that he is too old for her.
After several people in Walnut Grove become ill, Dr. Baker suspects it's the plague. Soon the church becomes quarantined as members of the community seek the source from which the disease came from.
O'Hara, who is a traveling circus man, comes to Walnut Grove and wants everyone to believe that he has powders which can heal anything. However, after Mrs. Oleson becomes deathly ill after taking some of the powder instead of having the operation that Dr. Baker wanted her to have, O'Hara faces the wrath of the town.
Caroline decides to take care of a young boy named Graham after it's discover his father beats him on a regular basis. Charles ends up staying with the boy's father to try and get him sober enough to be the parent he needs to be.
A new farmer moves to Walnut Grove with his pregnant wife. Joe tells all the other farmers of a hybrid corn that would produce a substantial crop. The farmers are excited about it and they all chip in to buy seed. However, Joe ends up in an accident on his way back to get the shipment and the search is on to find him.
On their way back to Walnut Grove, the Ingalls get caught in a blizzard. Once finding shelter, Charles goes out hunting and loses his way. He is fortunate to receive help from an Indian to find their way back to where Caroline and the girls are. However, upon arriving, a Marshall is there and is out to arrest the Indian. Owing the Indian his life, Charles helps him escape, but in doing so, the Indian gets shot by the Marshall and dies.
At Mr. Edwards urging, Johnny Johnson drops out of school in order to see the world. However, when Johnny goes to Mankato with Mr. Edwards to leave from there, he meets a young girl who cons him into spending all of his money on a hat. Realizing what is going on, Mr. Edwards is able to get the young girl to help convince Johnny to go home.
When Walnut Grove's Founders Day celebration comes around, the entire town is looking forward to all the games and activities that are going to take place. However, as the day wears on, the citizens of the town come to see how competitive the Ingalls and Olsen's are in the competitions they are apart of.
After Charles loses his job at the lumber mill, the family is unable to pay their bill at the mercantile. In order to pay his debt, the family pulls together and start working multiple jobs to raise the money. When they go pay the bill, Nels tells Charles that with how his family worked so hard together, the Ingalls are the richest family in Walnut Grove because of how much they love one another.
After having problems seeing the blackboard at school, Mary has to get a pair of glasses. She likes wearing her glasses until some of the children at school make fun of her and say that she never will be found attractive by boys if she wears them, which ultimately makes her decide to hide her glasses in a hollow log. However, when she sees that Miss Beadle has a boyfriend and also wears glasses, Mary changes her mind and goes back to get her glasses.
Mr. Sprague, a banker, won't give Charles a loan. At a fishing pond, Laura and Mr. Sprague meet and become friends.
Walnut Grove seeks a major win in their annual baseball game thanks to a new pitcher, Mr. Mumford. He is so good that people in the town begin wagering bets on the outcome. Once Mrs. Mumford finds out about the gambling, she tells her husband that he cannot play in the big game. It's up to Caroline to come to a solution to help Walnut Grove claim victory.
Mrs. Oleson does not what the Ingalls children beating Nellie and Willie in the school's leaf collecting project. So Harriet convinces Nels to let them all go with the Ingalls on their camping trip, but the entire clan ends learning more about the side effects of a certain kind of leaf than they ever suspected.
It's time for the town's annual spring dance and both Laura and Grace Snider have an idea of who they want to attend with. The problem is that neither of the two the want to invite seem to to even want to attend the event. So Laura and Grace decide the only solution to get what they want is to make the two guys jealous.
A widowed neighbor of the Ingalls, Julie Sanderson discovers that she does not have long to live. She decides to ask Charles to find a good home for her three children, John Jr, Carl and Alicia. After her death, Charles finds it difficult to find someone to take all three children.
Charles desperately continues his search for a couple who will take all three of the Sanderson children because he does not want to break his promise to Julia. He soon begins to give up hope and comes to the conclusion that he will have to separate them anyway. However, a surprising couple ends up taking in the children.
After Charles and Mr. Hansen build a bank for Walnut Grove, the new banker is Mr. Sprague. Laura ends up becoming friends with Sprague, but when Charles comes to him for a loan, he is convinced that Charles sent Laura to try and persuade him to give it to him.
Laura and her friend Jonah think they've hit the jackpot when the find gold in the stream while fishing. The two spend the next couple of weeks secretly gathering all they can and not telling a soul about it. However, a trip to Mr. Sprague reveals what their "gold" really is.
All of the school children have decided to save up money to buy Reverend Alden the perfect gift for his birthday. Miss Beadle decides to allow Mary to be in control of the money and buy the present. Laura tells Mary that she should use the money to buy items they could sell to the townsfolk in order to make even more money to buy a gift with. However, the plan soon backfires as no one wants the items they have purchased.
After Grace and Isaiah adopt John Sanderson, they soon discover that he loves books more than he does hunting or farming. Mr. Edwards decides to change all this by purchasing a gun for John's birthday. John tries to tell Mr. Edwards why he does not want to hunt in a letter, but he takes him hunting anyway. Soon the two end up encountering a bear and John cannot shoot it, so it ends up attacking Mr. Edwards. Later on, John learns why Mr. Edwards did not read his letter.
Laura and Nellie are both attracted to a new boy in school, Jason. Laura decides to help Jason with his new invention and then invites him to dinner. Once Nellie finds out, she becomes infuriated and secretly records Laura talking about her feelings for Jason when she comes for a visit. To get even with her for taking Jason, Nellie plays the recording for all the class to hear and an embarrassed Laura is upset.
Mary is thrilled to be chosen to participate in the state's math competition. However, she is heartbroken to find out that she cannot afford to go. Soon, the town council decides to help out since Mary will be representing the entire town.
When Charles and the girls are away, Caroline develops an infection on her leg. When Charles gets home, Caroline is close to death.
A caboose with Mary, Laura, and Carl in it begins to move with a train coming at it.
The school board decides to replace Miss Beadle. But Mr. Applewood, the new teacher, blames Laura for several things that happened, and gets her expelled.
Charles, along with Mr. Edwards and two other men, get a dangerous job.
Charles agrees to do some work for Widow Thurman, and in return wants a china set. When he spends more time at her house, his family gets concerned.
Taxes are increased, and a Russian immigrant loses his land. Even though he lost his land, he is still happy to live in America.
Mrs. Whipple's son Granville returns from fighting in the Civil War. He teaches kids in the town music, but the war caused him to have a morphine addiction.
Charles plans to return to Wisconsin when a tornado messes up his crop.
When Reverend Alden gets sick while collecting donations for a town whose crops were destroyed by a tornado, he becomes sick. After being found by Caleb Hodgekiss, a man down on his luck, the reverend gets nursed back to health by his wife while he goes to Walnut Grove looking for help.
Nellie is involved in a riding accident involving Bunny and seems to be paralyzed. After a while, Nellie is no longer paralyzed, but fakes it to make it seem she still is paralyzed.
A race is coming up in Walnut Grove, and Nellie gets upset because of Nels giving Bunny back to Laura, causing Harriet to get her a horse. Laura is worried that Nellie and her horse might beat herself and Bunny.
Carrie falls down a mine. Only person in town can get her out: an alcoholic.
Nels getting his head cut off? That's what Laura thinks she saw, and the Oleson kids take advantage of that.
Charles has two big problems. His mother dies and his father doesn't have the will to live any longer. Charles saves his father from a suicide attempt, and then tries to bring him back to Walnut Grove.
Charles' father impoves in Walnut Grove, but Laura blames him for Bunny having to be shot, causing him to leave the town.
Laura gets a goat as payment, but then he starts causing a lot of trouble. Will she be able to keep him?
When three brothers move to Walnut Grove, Charles tries to ignore the fact that they are bullies, but when they assault Caroline and his children, he calls upon the town to help reason with them before asking the brothers to leave.
Charles goes on a hunting trip, and lets Laura come along. But she accidentally knocks over a gun, which goes off and hits Charles. The only help is a blind man. Will she save her father?
When the children leave school early on Christmas Eve, a snowstom hits. The school is used as a hospital, and the men go try to find their children who are are still lost.
After learning that a publishing company is interested in his poetry, John Jr. is offered a four-year scholarship to attend college in Chicago. Upon hearing this, Grace is thrilled to know her son will have the opportunity to hone his writing skills at the university. However, John has to choose which path he wants to travel down – the one that will help him become a famous writer, or the one that will keep him in Walnut Grove with his loved ones.
A young girl uses the school play to coax her widowed mother back into society.
A half-Indian boy faces bigotry in the town when he and his widowed mother move to his grandmother's farm.
Mary ends up getting an infection which requires immediate, but costly surgery at a far away hospital.
So he can earn extra money to pay for Mary's next operation, Charles and Mr. Edwards take a dangerous job, dynamiting for a railroad company.
A black youth offers to sell himself into slavery so he can obtain money for an education.
Nellie blackmails Laura into making fun of a young girl who stutters after Laura breaks Nellie's music box.
As a prank, a slow-witted boy is nominated to run for class president against Mary and Nellie.
Floods ruin crops, so Charles and Edwards head for the South Dakota gold fields.
An eccentric, fantasy-prone woman settles down in Walnut Grove.
Charles wants to have a romantic time with Caroline in Chicago, but Mary goes with him to see her fiance. While there, they realize things are much different than at Walnut Grove.
Ellen Taylor drowns while with Mary and Laura. Her mother blames Laura and eventually holds her hostage, pretending Laura is her daughter.
Charles leaves the kitchen he was building onto the house unfinished, and a handyman is sent from the Olesons to help finish the job. Chris Nelson, the handyman, is told to leave by Caroline when an affair between them is suspected by some.
When Caroline goes on a trip with Charles, Mary gets left in charge. Things begin to get out of hand when Laura’s friend Andy takes in a wolf and her puppy that are quickly accused of killing a neighbor’s sheep herd. When he brings the dogs to the Ingalls, a pack of wild dogs follows them there, resulting in Andy, Laura, Mary, and Carrie being trapped inside the barn, waiting for help.
Somebody is stealing from the people of Walnut Grove, and Laura and Andy try to find out who it is.
Doc Baker finds another doctor to replace him when he cannot save a patient.
Jesse James, along with his brother Frank, are in town hiding. They take hostages when people find out who they really are.
Jonathan Garvey's crops are destroyed by a fire in the barn, and he refuses to get a job at the post office. He eventually leaves town.
Charles is going to be in a boxing match with an ill man. After the match, the man finds out that he will die if he fights again.
The Ingalls and Olesons go to the fair. While there, the two men of the families join a donkey-riding race, two guys fight for Mary, and Carries sets off on an adventure.
Mr. Simms begins to like Miss Beadle, and Luke and Nellie begin to like each other.
An Indian with a very sick father comes to Walnut Grove for help.
Laura tries to get the love of a man she likes, while Charles tries to save his business.
One of the town leaders doesn't approve of education when Mary gets a job as a teacher.
A message in a bottle leads Laura to an abandoned baby.
Charles receives surprising news. He will inherit money from a relative of his that is wealthy.
Nels's nephew is now under the care of the Olesons after the boy has trouble at home, but they later realize they can't handle him.
Caroline is pregnant with her fifth child, and she wants to have a son. Charles has to act as a doctor when she delivers the baby early.
Mary becomes blind, and Doc Baker wants Charles and Caroline to put her in a school for the blind in Iowa.
Mary is put into a school for the blind in Iowa, and she begins to like an instructor there who helps her, Adam Kendall.
The Ingalls move to Winoka because of recent struggles in Walnut Grove, and it gets the family closer to Mary. Laura meets Albert, an orphan who Charles seems to like.
Charles sells his fiddle to get Mary a gift for her birthday.
Tom Carlin is a student at the school for the blind where Mary works. Mary gets him to play football to help him gain confidence.
John Bevins is a heavy man who is made fun of a lot. He finally gets away from the ridicule by accepting a job at the school where Mary works, where no one can see him.
Toby Noe buys the kids a bunch of fireworks with the $5,000 he wins in a lottery. The Ingalls, Olesons, and Garveys all return to Walnut Grove, with Albert coming along with the Ingalls.
When the Ingalls, Olesons, and Garveys get back to Walnut Grove, they find out that it has took a turn for the worse, so everybody tries to help rebuild the town.
Laura feels left out with Albert in the family. When Charles and Caroline are discussing her feelings, Albert overhears, and runs away.
Mrs. Oleson's cousin starts a newspaper, and she gets a job in it as a gossip columnist. But she starts too many rumors, so Charles tries to settle it.
Mary accepts when Adam asks her to marry him, but she questions her choice when she isn't sure if she could take care of kids. But she, along with Adam, rescues a blind kid lost in a dust storm.
Albert and Andy take a trip to Sleepy Eye. Charles and Jonathan follow behind to watch them.
Nellie begins tutoring Andy, but Nellie's advice to get good grades is by cheating.
Joe Kagan joins the congregation in town, and Mrs. Oleson does not like this. The school for the blind is closed, and Charles and Joe take them to the new school Walnut Grove opened.
Mrs. Oleson meets Hester-Sue and is disappointed to find out that she is African-American. Hester-Sue and her group of students join the group of the blind to go to Walnut Grove.
Carrie misses Charles when he is away on a job, so she creates an imaginary friend.
Albert is ridiculed by classmates when he becomes an apprentice for an old Jewish man.
A boy pretends to go blind when his parents are about to be divorced.
There's gonna be a town dance, and Toby Noe comes to town. Laura and Albert try to be matchmakers.
Mary is pregnant, and Adam's father hears about the news. He invites the couple to come live with him, but Mary later loses the baby.
Aunt Kezia doesn't pay her taxes, so Mrs. Oleson buys the property. Mrs. Oleson offers to let her stay as their servant, while Laura and Albert make up a story about a nearby monster.
Larrabee is the only farmer in town who won't change his prices, so Jonathan embarrasses him in front of his family. But Larrabee retaliates, and gets himself into trouble.
Mary thinks that she may be regaining her sight, and Albert and Laura try to work on a cottage for Mary and Adam.
Charles is planning on buying a horse from Brett Harper. While there, Brett's two children ask Charles to help prevent their parents from splitting up.
Two men sell mutton to the people of Walnut Grove, but the mutton contains anthrax. Charles and Jonathan go on a journey to get medical supplies, and are held up by a man. Laura, who is sick, goes blind.
Laura and Albert try to help their friend Dylan see the Pacific Ocean before he dies from leukemia.
Laura and Nellie set out to get Almanzo Wilder, brother of the new schoolmarm, to like them.
Almanzo breaks up a fight between Laura and Nellie, and takes Laura to his house. Charles gets the wrong idea about Laura going to his house.
Albert is unable to get a project for school done. The Ingalls legalize their adoption of Albert, but his real father comes in hopes of regaining his son.
Albert and Laura give Adam money so that him and Mary can go to a ceremony for an award he won. But on the way, they get into an accident.
Nels gets to see his sister again when a circus comes to town.
Reverend Alden is planning on marrying Anna Craig, but Mrs. Oleson is very unhappy about this, so she tries to break them up.
Albert has a dream that he and Laura are kidnapped by Indians, and he has to attack Walnut Grove with them. Also, Gracie scares Carrie.
Mr. Edwards returns, but a tree falls and injures him. This causes him to lose his will to live.
Jonathan is convinced that he has talent as a wrestler, but it is all part of a man's plan to have a rigged wrestling match. Mrs. Oleson ends up betting the church's funds on the match.
Highlights from past shows reflect the experiences of Laura.
Part 2 of a three-part retrospective on the experiences of Laura.
Conclusion of a review of episodes featuring Laura Ingalls.
Reverend Edward Danforth, a faith healer, comes to town. Doc Baker and Reverend Alden are soon forgotten by the community.
Caroline's father moves in with the Ingalls when his wife dies. Charles tries to get him to write a book to help him stop feeling lonely.
Mrs. Oleson finds out that Mrs. Garvey had a husband before marrying Jonathan.
Tod Dortmunder comes to Walnut Grove to stay with his grandparents after being abused by his father. He is soon facing a jail sentence for stealing Charles' watch. Instead, Charles lets him work as a punishment.
Albert makes a plan to scare a school bully. The plan includes a werewolf.
Charles and Caroline go to Milwaukee for a farmers convention and a high school reunion.
Laura and Mary are hostages at the school for the blind by three convicts who have escaped. Laura is supposed to go get a doctor for one of the men, but instead gets Charles.
When Laura teaches a deaf neighbor how to talk with his family and friends through sign language, Daniel eventually falls in love with her, only to have his heart broken when Laura doesn't feel the same way.
While the town is enjoying a picnic at the Blind School, Albert and a friend sneak down to the root cellar to smoke a pipe. However, when they caught and throw the lit pipe in a pile of old rags, resulting in a fire. While trying to save the children, Alice and the Kendall’s son are unable to get out and ultimately die; leaving Albert with a heavy heart when he learned of what caused the fire.
Charles tries to get Laura to like Almanzo's younger brother Perley. Also, Albert and Andy try to get Penelope Parker's attention.
Nels is tired of his family's actions, so he starts a new business and meets another lady, whom he starts to fall in love with.
Laura gets a job in a town nearby as a teacher. Since Almanzo drives her there, the two start to like each other more.
Laura accepts Almanzo's marriage proposal, but Charles insists that they must wait two years to wed.
In the conclusion, Laura sees Almanzo rubbing a saloon-girl's back and becomes furious; Nellie's boyfriend says that he is leaving.
Laura finally sets her wedding date, while Eliza Jane finds her own love, for the very first time.
Almanzo's sister has her heart broken, so she leaves town. Because of Eliza Jane leaving, Laura is hired as the new schoolmarm, so her and Almanzo can go on with their wedding.
Plans for a new life are threatened when widower Jonathan Garvey and his son are harassed by young toughs.
Walnut Grove's new football coach thinks winning a game is like winning war and that only winning counts.
At the school for the blind, a caretaker shelters two runaway orphans who are facing separation.
Annie Crane is a blind woman who is very well known for painting. Her mother shows up one day and wants her back, but Annie refuses because her mother abandoned her.
A jealous Laura moves back with her parents when a pretty acquaintance reenters Almanzo's life.
Albert lies to impress a pen pal, unaware that she's confined to a wheelchair and doing the same.
Freight-hauling partners Charles and Almanzo agree on a race to decide the better route between Walnut Grove and Sleepy Eye.
An accident gives Adam his eyesight back, but Mary is worried that he won't love her anymore.
Adam is traveling to apply for a scholarship, but is beaten and robbed on the way, and also gets a fever.
When the people of Walnut Grove attend a hearing regarding a law granting women equal rights in property ownership; the men are hesitant to support it, causing Mrs. Oleson to lead the women in a revolt to make the men realize how important equal rights are.
Mrs. Oleson meets Percival's parents, and she has an argument with his father over whether Nellie should raise her child as a Jew or a Gentile. Then Nellie gives birth to the baby, or as they find out, babies.
Almanzo's brother Royal leaves his sons with him and Laura. The kids turn out to be hard to handle.
Joe Kagan moves to Sleepy Eye and gets a job at the school of the blind, mainly because of Hester-Sue, but at first, she doesn't appear to like him.
Laura quits her job, and allows Mrs. Oleson to take over, but it doesn't go as well as Mrs. Oleson planned.
A girl lives in fear and humiliation after being assaulted by a masked rapist.
In the conclusion, Albert resolves to marry Sylvia, even though her father is determined to take her away.
Adam's first legal client is a land speculator accused of defrauding Walnut Grove investors.
Caroline thinks that she is pregnant again, but the doctor reveals the truth: she can't have any more children. Charles takes her to her hometown and they renew their wedding vows.
Charles and Albert go with the Coopers to make a delivery, but the Coopers are killed in an accident. Charles decides to keep their children in his home for a while.
Reverend Alden finds a home for Cassandra and James Cooper, but the home is unsuitable. Charles later agrees to adopt them.
The Olesons adopt a little girl, Nancy, who looks and acts like Nellie.
Kids at school have to keep Nancy in control, and Hester-Sue comes to Walnut Grove and gets a job at the Olesons restraunt.
James breaks Albert's razor, and tries to get him another one, but doesn't pay for it. He runs away after being called a thief.
Doc Baker gets a new assistant, but isn't very happy that he's black.
While the students at the Walnut Grove School are enjoying their summer vacation, Laura decides to attend a literary seminar in Arizona with Eliza Jane. It doesn’t take her long to discover that the professor teaching the class is more interested in starting a relationship with her than teaching the works of Emerson, Twain and other American novelists.
Albert likes a circus performer's, Gambini, act, but this causes an almost fatal accident. He also starts to like another circus performer.
When Mrs. Oleson refuses to pay the ransom of a kidnapped Nels, he gets mad after learning this. So, in order to get back at her, he helps his kidnappers get the ransom. After their plans go awry, the kidnappers let their hostages go with out hurting them.
When Charles goes to Chicago with Mr. Edwards to investigate John Jr.'s death, they discover that it was not an accident.
When Elmer, a new kid in town develops a crush on Nancy, she takes advantage of his affection to do her chores around the house. It isn't until he realizes that she's been using him to get back at the school kids who have been giving her a hard time and have been making fun of his size, that he decides to quit school and to lose some weight. When the class goes to apologize for their actions, Elmer goes back to school.
Harriet sells her restaurant to a franchise, and Nels and Charles start a restaurant to rival hers.
James becomes friends with a new kid, Gideon, but joins in on making fun of him when others do. This makes Gideon run away.
Laura thinks that she can take care of the farm while Almanzo is away, but the local children at the school have to save the crops when Laura suffers a heat stroke.
The beginning set in 1982, some blueprints are discovered and are later to be found to be drawn by Charles. He has began cabinet-making to make a legacy for his family. But his design is stolen.
James' and Cassandra's grand-uncle Jed wants custody of the two. What follows is a court battle.
Hester-Sue's ex-husband shows up, wanting her back. He insists that he has given up bad habits.
A hailstorm destroys Laura and Almanzo's crops, but it doesn't end there. Almanzo has a stroke, and Laura gives birth.
The Wilder's trouble isn't over. A tornado destroys their home, and hurts Laura.
Mr. Edwards has started drinking again and his wife kicks him out of the house, so he returns to Walnut Grove. His drinking causes Albert to get injured.
Caroline gets a call from a camp where she finds her old friend Louisa, who is pregnant and sick with the flu. She eventually dies, but her baby survives.
James is at a bank when it is robbed, and he is shot. Charles wants Mr. Edwards to help him find the ones who shot him.
James is in a coma, which is the result of him being shot, but Charles doesn't give up hope that he will heal.
Charles returns to Walnut Grove to find out that Albert has blood disease that almost always results in death.
The Ingalls find out that Walnut Grove is being bought by a miner. They decide to blow up the town since they are being forced to leave.
Rose is kidnapped by a woman who wants a child of her own.
The Ingalls sell their home and leave Walnut Grove, and Laura quits teaching to stay home with Rose.
Royal, Almanzo's brother, wants his brother and Laura to take care of his daughter, Jenny, because he is dying. Jenny tries to kill herself, upset by her father's death.
After Harriet finds a Walnut Grove bearer bond while cleaning Lars Hanson’s home, she demands that if the town doesn’t change its ways to suit her family; then they will have to pay her over $14,000. However, Harriet gets a surprise when one of the town founders comes into Walnut Grove during the town’s first mayoral election with the intent of having his bond being paid off before hers.
Mr. Stark tries to kill his wife and daughter after going bankrupt. He somehow gets in the Wilder house, and mistakes Laura and Jenny for his wife and daughter.
Mrs. Oleson tries to keep Lou Bates, a little person who has recently lost his wife in childbirth, from getting a job.
The people of Walnut Grove try to rescue a boy who cannot speak when they see him apart of a carnival show.
Mr. Edwards is hiding the boy, but is ordered by a judge to put him in a mental hospital.
Nellie comes back to Walnut Grove, making Nancy run away.
When a former student from Walnut Grove’s Blind School returns to town, she and Mr. Edwards soon hit it off. After learning that Jane will be undergoing a surgery to restore her sight, Mr. Edwards starts to worry that she won’t want to be with him after she discovers the difference in their ages.
When a new minister comes to town, Mr. Edwards believes that he is out to get Reverend Alden's job and to turn the heads of the married women in town, especially those of Laura and Sara. Meanwhile, John and Almonzo run into some bad luck while going to a Grange meeting in San Francisco.
After Laura and Almonzo's son dies, a grieving Laura blames Doc Baker, causing the rest of the town to turn their backs on him. However, when Rose comes down with small pox, Laura reluctantly lets the doctor treat the baby.
As he gets ready to graduate, Willie surprises his parents by telling them that he has no intention of going to college. Instead, he wants to stay in Walnut Grove, run the restaurant, and marry his sweetheart Rachel Brown.
After an old friend passes away, Laura and Almonzo are surprised to learn that she willed them her home. Not wanting the large house to go to waste, Laura decides to turn it into a boarding house and soon discovers that a world famous author would like to rent a room. Meanwhile, Mr. Edwards is thrown for a loop when Matthew’s father arrives in Walnut Grove, looking to be apart of his son’s life.