The cost of childcare for her three children exceeds what she could expect to earn. With mortgage payments past due and money scarce to put food on the table, tension begins to take hold in the Neumann household. Frustrated and upset, Tony withdraws into self-imposed isolation from his wife and children, while Terry faces the humiliation of food pantries and bill collectors. When both Claude and Jackie Stanley get their pink slips, they react decisively. Jackie, who had been studying for her real estate license at night, starts a new career as a sales agent, but she soon learns that selling real estate is a non-stop profession that doesn't guarantee an income stream.
Racism aggravates the odds for success.
Still, sustained by their religious faith and their belief that life will get better, Jackie and Claude resolve to keep their spirits up for themselves and their children. But the children feel the financial squeeze. Tuition for their parochial school is now out of the question. They must be abruptly pulled out and enrolled in an urban public school where they struggle to keep their educational goals high. At 13, Keith Stanley and his younger twin brothers Claude, Jr. and Klaudale, start a lawn care business, sacrificing afternoons and weekends with their friends to mow lawns, clip hedges and rake leaves.