A young pre-teen girl named Ruth lives with her family on a farm in the very rural and poor part of the back county during the 1930s. One day she discovers her grandfather is planning to plant a field of sunflowers and inquires as to why he would spend time and energy doing such a thing when there are other needs on the farm. Her grandfather explains by beginning to tell how sunflowers can teach us about faith and how to live life as Jesus taught us. Ruth learns how something as simple as a sunflower can lead one to contemplate the power of Jesus' message and how one can find grown in their spiritual life through simple everyday things. Ruth's grandfather uses the sunflowers to teach parts of a lesson that extends through many days, with each one building upon the previous one. The teaching then involves Ruth's parents contributing to the lesson. Through it all, Ruth learns about the deep meaning of giving to others who are in need, and she becomes determined to apply that learning to help a special neighbor who is in need after suffering an injury.