A badly injured leg forces hunky fireman Jeff, who lost his father in a fire as a young boy, to rent a ground floor room during his recovery. Thus he moves in with divorcée Jenny, a 911 emergency call center operator, and her fatherless young children, Luke and Elsie, who soon dote on him as an ideal substitute father and try matching him with their mother. She recognizes his good influence but fears another breakup would be too hard. Jeff's retired former fire chief 'Buddy' being in the home where the kids read books to earn money ultimately works wonders.