The story of several generations of a family, from the arrival of Jewish immigrant Sam Krichinsky in the suburb of Baltimore called Avalon, down through his children and grandchildren. The family goes from poverty to prosperity as the world changes around them, but their love and humor hold the family together.

A young Jewish woman comes to America in the 1890s and discovers that her husband has given up the ways of the old country, gotten a new girlfriend, and started a new life.