Elsie, now twenty-one years old, wishes to marry an old friend but her father decrees she must first learn to manage her inheritance, including her mother's Louisiana sugar plantation and its slaves.

A doctor prescribes a winter's rest in the South for Chester so he can fully recover from the injuries he incurred while protecting Lucilla. After Max's graduation from the Naval Academy, Grandmother Elsie and the Raymonds travel on the Dolphin to Florida and on to Viamede, Elsie's beloved Louisiana home. Max and Evelyn become engaged, and Bob Johnson and Sydney Dinsmore wed. When Evelyn and Lulu catch the bridal bouquet together at the wedding, the...