At the funeral, Mrs. Davis's casket gets stuck just as they are lowering it. She's still fighting the good fight, just as she'd struggled at Carver's Mill Elementary, trying to corral each student toward an exciting and productive life. Only at her funeral, does the town learn that Mrs. Davis had been writing a novel about the lives of three of her students...from first grade to adulthood, and how one accident on the school bus changed their lives. Dismissed early due to a blizzard, Mr. Nichols, their bus driver, crashes into the river. Although Susan, the brainy one, Charlie, the serious one, and Becky, the arty one have nothing in common their unsuccessful attempt to save Mr. Nichols changes their lives. Susan becomes the town's success story as a best-selling author. Becky, the wild one, opens a dance studio. Charley only repairs lawnmowers though he is the town's reluctant hero, who saves lives as a volunteer fireman.