The mysterious Mrs. Eleanor Carter moves to Springfield with her two teenagers, Jimmy and Cathy. Eleanor makes friends with the town's social leader, Mrs. Wellington, who supports her idea for a town youth center, and she is aided by Tom Griffith, the high-school principal. At the town's annual picnic, to which Eleanor has bought a band (Les Brown and His Band of Reknown), the town busybody, Eunice, reveals what she learned about Eleanor's past.