The story focused on the Dennis family who were originally from the town of Three Rivers, but moved to the nearby town of New Hope after Three Rivers was destroyed by a flood. Later in the series run, the Dennis family moved to Columbus, a college town. The title came from the opening words used in every episode, "Our years are as the falling leaves. We live, we love, we dream, and then we go. But somehow we keep hoping, don't we, that our dreams come true on that brighter day?"