Luke Barnetti, son of Luc and Rose Barnetti and brother to younger Lydia, lives in the Adirondack Mountains of NY. Post-WWII, Luc takes a caretaker position at Great Camp Thornwall, owned by Prescott Cunningham III, who also owns Cunningham Publishing Company in NYC. He and his wife have two daughters, Maria and Elizabeth. Ten-year-old Luke spends his summers with his family working at the Great Camp while the Cunninghams entertain their elite friends from New York City. Elizabeth and Luke spend their time seeking adventure and growing closer each summer. Mrs. Cunningham is less than thrilled about the relationship and does all she can to keep them apart. They fall in love, and Luke proposes to "Lizzy," a name Mrs. Cunningham despises; "Her name is Elizabeth!" Older sister Maria married into the elite group of the Cunninghams and is pleased. Luke does not fit her plans for Elizabeth. On their wedding day at Camp Thornwall, Mrs. Cunningham puts her foot down once and for all. She'll stop at nothing to put an end to "Lizzy and Luke."
