Fifteen year old Beany is a practical and competent high school sophomore. She knows just how to make the grocery budget stretch just right. She looks out for ways of making people feel more comfortable. From the moment she heard about her long lost cousin, 18 year old Sheila McBride, she pictured a desolate and helpless soul needing a mother hen to make her feel welcome and give her an easier time of things after the difficult life she's led. But from the moment Sheila arrives, everything seems to go wrong. Sheila isn't very talkative and is fond of her gaudy clothes. Beany worries that she just won't fit in if she doesn't dress differently. After not hitting it off very well with the Malones, Sheila decides to strike out on her own. Meanwhile, the well-meaning Beany has become assistant to a newspaper advice-columnist and gets personally involved in one of the letter-writers - who leaves Beany with a baby to take care of! Johnny works desperately to get Emerson Worth's historical manuscript finished so that his accomplishments will be recognized before he dies. The much-coveted Golden Spur award is won - but only after the elderly gentleman's death. Beany is still dating the insecure and tempermental Norbett Rhodes. Frustration mounts because Beany and Norbett have a major misunderstanding. This engaging story highlights some of the wisdom teenagers have not yet acquired through the eyes of the "wise ones" in the story - Martie Malone (their father), Eve Baxter (the advice columnist) and Emerson Worth.