Thirteen-year-old Sam Gribley's hero is naturalist poet Henry David Thoreau. So Sam decides to write a note to his folks, pack up some of his belongings and leave home for the challenge of wilderness living. Realizing his dream, Sam feeds himself, builds a makeshift home and learns to live in harmony with nature -- miles from civilization.

When Christy's best friend dies of typhoid before they've had a chance to patch up a disagreement, Christy angrily questions her faith as she tries to reconcile her beliefs with the tragedy of a young, loving mother being taken away from her family and friends.

This television adaptation features Lauren Lee Smith as the 19-year-old schoolteacher who flounders and perseveres in an isolated mountain community in the early 1900s. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Great Smokey Mountains, this 89-minute film begins with an elderly Christy returning to the long-abandoned mission where she once taught. Her memories center around a time when change was coming to Cutter Gap--some for the better, some not,...