 After also losing his father, Collin grows to be close to Dolly and Catherine (Nell Carter) and becomes acquainted with the eccentric townspeople, from the gossip-loving barber (Roddy McDowall) to a traveling evangelist with fifteen illegitimate offspring (Mary Steenburgen).To escape Verena's oppression, Dolly, Collin, and Catherine run away to an old tree house in the woods.Their rebellion sparks a series of events that change their lives and the entire town as well.