Erin Walton is considering marrying her boyfriend Paul but her old boyfriend Ashley, who left for the war and married someone else, lived through his wife's death and would like to get Erin back, but Paul is not going to give her up so easily. Also Mary Ellen's boyfriend Jonesy who's a veterinarian is trying to establish a practice but everybody doesn't think he is competent. And Ben who has been minding the lumber business while their father's with their ailing mother in Arizona is having some problems and everybody's worried that he's digging himself a hole that he might not get out of.

In 1964, John-Boy Walton is planning his wedding to Janet Gilchrist, the editor of a New York fashion magazine and the daughter of a diplomat. The two of them plan a small wedding and he invites the family and friends from Walton's Mountain to come to New York for the celebration. However, Janet's Aunt Flo has other ideas and begins to take over their wedding preparations. Added to the wedding plan stress, John-Boy is also trying to write an article about his Grandma, but decides that he needs to go home to escape the wedding preparations, as well as to reunite with his grandmother and fill in some gaps leaving Janet in New York trying to prevent her wedding from getting out of hand. But she too leaves the city and heads for Walton's Mountain to plan their wedding there.

Madame Ranevskaya is a spoiled aging aristocratic lady, who returns from a trip to Paris to face the loss of her magnificent Cherry Orchard estate after a default on the mortgage. In denial, she continues living in the past, deluding herself and her family, while the beautiful cherry trees are being axed down by the re-possessor Lopakhin (Teale), her former serf, who has his own agenda.