Olivia has a nightmare about planes being shot down. She wakes with a start worrying that John-Boy has gone down in one of those planes. She gets up to check that the rest of her children are safe in their beds. The next morning John and Olivia go to the Red Cross in Richmond to see if any news arrived about John-Boy’s whereabouts. Mrs. Denman says that it will still take time. Olivia says that it has been 2 months 3 weeks and 5 days since John-Boy has gone missing in action. Mrs. Denman asks Olivia if she can check in on Mrs. Thatcher up in the mountains who hasn’t written to her husband Frank who is serving over seas.
The family eats breakfast and discusses their plans for the day. John is off to Camp Lee and Olivia and Mary Ellen plan to head up the mountain
When Mary Ellen and Olivia pull up in their truck Darcy Thatcher pulls out her rifle and tries to send them off. They eventually convince her to tell them what has upset her. She tells them that a man she knew came to help with her orchard. He made his way into her home and then raped her. She doesn’t want their help, she has no family for support and is not willing to go to the police. When Olivia and Mary Ellen leave they notice that Darcy has killed the fruit tree with lye.
Mary Ellen makes her last visit to Lutie Bascomb. He complains about his shallow breathing. She says that he will need to quit smoking his pipe to fix that but he looks forward to the additional medicine she give him. Son Slater arrives with news of the traps he set for Lutie. He shares a bag of his food with Mrs. Walton who says that his uncle Charlie has been cutting wood for her husband John for ever.
Back at home Olivia talks to John about the situation with the soldier’s wife. He thinks that she should ask Mrs. Denman to arrange a furlough for her husband. Olivia wonders if they should interfere that much. In the kitchen Mary Ellen tells Elizabeth about their trip up the mountain. Olivia walks in and admires the baking that Elizabeth and Cindy are doing. Olivia is surprised to see that they have peaches . Cindy says that they were in the sack she brought home from their trip up the mountain. Olivia and Mary Ellen immediately suspect that Son Slater may be the rapist.
Mary Ellen and Olivia return to pay a visit to Darcy Thatcher. They bring her some supplies from Ike’s and a stack of letters from her husband. They ask if Son Slater was the man who raped her. She doesn’t want anyone to know. She feels that people will say that she led him on or asked for it. She doesn’t want her husband to know for fear that he might try to shoot Slater and go to jail.
Mary Ellen drops Olivia off at the Sheriff's office. Abe says that the young woman has to come in and make the charges herself and will have to testify and prove her character. He says that it is not an impossible charge but difficult to prove. Olivia becomes upset and says that it sounds like the verdict has already been cast before the trial.
Son Slater sneaks up on Olivia who is busy sweeping out the smokehouse. He says that he has been hearing nasty rumors being spread around about him. She says that maybe he has been just hearing the truth. He tries to intimidate her but Olivia stands her ground and sends him off. She returns to the house where there is a call from Mrs. Denman informing her that Henry Thatcher has a 3 day leave to see his wife. Olivia meets him at the station and drives him up the mountain. Meanwhile John tracks down Son Slater and sends him packing after tossing him into pond nearby.
Olivia arrives with Henry at his home. He has figured that it was Son Slater who had forced himself on his wife. Henry grabs a rifle intent to track down Son but John arrives and holds him back saying that his wife needs him more and is not worth ruining his life over. Henry considers the situation and goes to be with his wife.
Back home Mrs. Denman arrives with word that John-Boy has been found and is in serious condition in a hospital in Washington.
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