Through tests, tears, and triumphs as a fire drives the Waltons from their home, John-Boy becomes a scriptwriter, Mary Ellen applies to nursing school, and Jim-Bob discovers a fact about his birth, all while Hitler and Mussolini threaten the world.
Billy Coleman comes back from World War II distraught over the carnage he observed. To ease his pain, Billy's compassionate grandfather gives him two puppies similar to those he possessed in his youth.