Maggie and her unconventional family have seen the elephant in more ways than they thought possible. But now they are back in their hometown of Blaineton and things are looking up. Maggie's husband Eli is Editor-in-Chief of The Register, the town's newspaper. Nate Johnson has re-established his carpentry business, and wife Emily is selling home-baked goods at the local bakery. But Blaineton is not the same. An insane asylum has opened its doors north of town. A woolen mill and army uniform factory are doing business to the south. And a wealthy industrialist by the name of Josiah Norton seeks to change the the once sleepy burg. Old struggles are still with them, too. Maggie worries Eli's increasing nightmares as she cares for a new baby and edits articles for the Register. She and Emily find it difficult keeping up an enormous house. And Maggie's daughter Frankie has accepted a job offer at the Western New Jersey Hospital for the Insane. Life may not be as peaceful as they are hoping.