Struggling to figure out where he fits in, Dean decides to pursue his calling as "The Great Uniter" and attempts to organize the first integrated baseball game between his team and his friend Brad's team.
While Dean reckons with his first taste of heartbreak and betrayal, the adults in his life are overly empathetic and assume his grief is from mourning current events.
Dean heads to band practice with Bill, but the grown folks' business at the music studio prompts Lillian to pick Dean up; Dean learns what his mum does while he's at school all day.
Dean is reluctant to attend the annual church lock-in until Kim tells him it's where she got her first kiss; then he enlists his friends to help him pair up with Keisa.
When Coach Long and Bill take the boys on a camping trip as part of their newly formed scout troop, their starkly different approaches to the outdoors show Dean that his father isn't good at everything.
Bill comes up with a solution for Kim's car desires, but the solution is only pleasing to him; Dean is worried about seeming uncool when Clisby ends up chaperoning him and his friends.
Dean can't wait to spend Christmas with his older brother, Bruce, when he returns home from Vietnam; Bruce struggles to adjust to life back in Montgomery; the rest of the family rely on their favorite holiday traditions to bring cheer.