The Bergers have prospered in Bergerton since the day that Jonathan Berger's great-great grandfather refused to move from the very spot where his donkey cart had toppled over on the side of the road. Fortune smiles upon them all—until a catastrophic fire strikes on the night of the annual Feast of Sullivan, and they find themselves lost and scattered to the winds.

But despite facing runaway grandchildren, a pitchfork-armed local militia lost to the wars in the north, rival churches, a home for wayward boys, and goat caves converted to a makeshift prison, the Bergers also discover the bonds that connect them across distances—and that no matter what, they can always come home.