During the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, the women of the home - wives and mothers - worked to help their family survive. Searching for food and learning to live on little money, the struggled to feed their families. Lydia is a young girl at the beginning of the 20th century. She dreams of a fairy tale marriage and a world that will match all her hopes.

However during the 1930's and 1940's, nature challenges the Midwest with grasshoppers, dust, and drought. But most of all, the fought the dust and wind. Dirt seeped into any crevice of the house. Dust blew through the cracks of the windows. Dust covered the babies' mouths forcing them to cough up black soil in the mornings. In addition, the women fought against grasshoppers which threatened their gardens, the paint on their house, and any item where they landed. Eventually, it was the mother who kept the children safe and healthy. It was the wife who held up her husband and coaxed him to continue.

Strong women, like Lydia, found a way for their family to survive. There were the hands and hearts that helped the family survive.