In eight years of letters written home to "the folks" back in Kansas City, Kansas, Mary Ellen tells the tales of the everyday housewife in mid-century America. When the family moves to the southwest they experience living in the suburbs, a stint at farming, and life on an isolated Arizona ranch. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, Mary Ellen has an eye for detail and a knack for storytelling. Ultimately,the constant moving and readjustment takes its toll, leading to an unanticipated end that changes the course of her life, and her family's life, forever.