Christy was once a regular schoolgirl of Asheville, Tennessee, used to conveniences of city life and not fully away of the hardships of life. And one day, a man on a mission comes by their church, and Christy's life is changed forever.

Nineteen year old Christy Rudd Huddleston is led to a poor collection of families hidden somewhere in the Great Smokies, to be schoolteacher there. Her journey there is remarkable enough, but it is the people she meets there and the ways she changes their lives and they change hers that make this story the inspiring and heartwarming epic that it is.

Some of the people she meets are: Alice Henderson, the amazing Quaker woman who takes care of the Cutter Gap mission as well as the surrounding missions; Reverend David Grantlang, the new young preacher from Boston, eager to prove himself and yet struggling with his own inner doubts; Dr Neil MacNeill, the only doctor for miles, a local boy who was given the opportunity to study medicine in great schools in New York and Scotland; gentle Fairlight Spencer and her family, chatterbox Ruby Mae Morrison, the darling little Mountie O'Teale, the tragic McHone family, and many, many more.

CHRISTY RUDD HUDDLESTON, a nineteen-year-old girl.
Her father, mother, and brother George

ALICE HENDERSON, a Quaker mission worker from
Ardmore, Pennsyvania.

DAVID GRANTLAND, the young minister.

IDA GRANTLAND, the spinster sister of David.

DR. NEIL MACNEILL, the physician of the Cove.

JEB SPENCER, a ballad-singing mountain man.
FAIRLIGHT SPENCER, his wife.
Their children: John, Zady, Clara, Lulu,
and Little Guy.

BOB ALLEN, keeper of the mill by Blackberry Creek.
MARY ALLEN, his superstitious wife.
Their children: Rob, Festus, Creed, Della May,
Nuda, Little Burl

AULT ALLEN, Bob's older brother, head of the clan.

JOHN HOLCOMBE, another mountain man.
ELIZABETH HOLCOMBE, his wife.
Their children: Arrowood, Lizette, John,
Sam Houston, baby girl.

UNCLE BOGG MCHONE, the country squire,
humorist of Cutter Gap, teller of tall tales.
TOM MCHONE, one of Uncle Bogg's grown sons.
OPAL MCHONE, Tom's wife.
Their children: Issak, Toot, Vincent.

NATHAN O'TEALE, rough highlander.
SWANNIE O'TEALE, his wife.
Their children: Wilmer, half-witted, epileptic son;
Smith, Orter Ball; Mountie; George, Thomas, Mary.

OZIAS HOLT, the host of the "working."
REBECCA HOLT, his wife.
Their children: Wraight, Zacharias, Becky, Will,
Dicle, Larmie, Jake, Vella.

BIRD'S EYE TAYLOR, feuder and blockader.
LUNDY TAYLOR, his seventeen-year-old swarthy son.

KYLE COBURN, mountain man.
LETY COBURN, his wife.
Their daughter Bessie, thirteen

DUGGIN MORRISON, glum mountaineer, and hsi wife.
Mrs. Morrison's daughter, Ruby Mae, red-haired
girl who lives at the mission house.

THE BECK FAMILY, whose cabin is close to the
Big Mud Hole.
Their children: Will, Clarabelle, Rorex, Wanda,
Ann, Joshua Bean.

AUNT POLLY TEAGUE, ninety-two, oldest woman
in the Cove.

LENORE TEAGUE, Aunt Polly's daughter-in-law.

GRANNY BARCLAY, mid-wife of Cutter Gap.

LIZ ANN ROBERTSON, married at fourteen.

MR. HAZEN SMITH, weathy Knoxville businessman.

MRS. TOLIVER AND MRS. BROWNING, ladies at the
University Club, Knoxville

GENTRY LONG, United States marshal.

JAVIS MACDONALD, the train conductor.

MRS. TATUM, the boarding-house lady.

BEN PENTALND, the mailman.

The book was turned into a tv series from 1994-1995, with just 18 episodes. But for its brief life, it brought many shining moments to the fans. Its fans remain loyal to this day, keeping the stories alive in tapes, dvds, books and, of course, in their memories.

The show (and the book) had something for everyone. There was mystery, romance, tragedy, joy, triumph. The lives of the characters were all connected by the events that happened. Nothing happened that affected only one person but affected the whole Cove, in different ways. People fought each other, challenged each other, loved each other and entered each others' hearts.

Christy Huddleston. . . . .Kellie Martin
Alice Henderson. . . . .Tyne Daly
David Grantland. . . . .Randall Batinkoff
Dr. Neil MacNeill. . . . .Stewart Finlay-McLennan
Daniel Scott. . . . .LeVar Burton
Fairlight Spencer. . . . .Tess Harper
Ruby Mae Morrison. . . . .Emily Shulman
Miss Ida Grantland. . . . .Annabelle Price
Hattie McHabe. . . . .Judy Collins
Ben Pentland. . . . .Chelcie Ross
Bob Allen. . . . .Jeffrey Ford
Mary Allen. . . . .Bonita Allen
Rob Allen. . . . .Jack Landry
Creed Allen. . . . .Clay Jeter
Little Burl Allen. . . . .Andy Nichols
Jeb Spencer. . . . .Bruce McKinnon
John Spencer. . . . .Sam Tyler Wayman
Zady Spencer. . . . .Jenny Krochmal
Swannie O'Teale. . . . .Collin Wilcox Paxton
Mountie O'Teale. . . . .Alyssa Hmielewski
Becky O'Teale. . . . .Kelley Clark
Opal McHone. . . . .Dale Dickey
Tom McHone. . . . .Andrew Stahl
Isaak McHone. . . . .Trip Cogburn
Uncle Bogg. . . . .Frank Hoyt Taylor
Sam Houston Holcombe. . . . .Kyle Hudgens
Zack Holt. . . . .Jayson Debuty
Lundy Taylor. . . . .Scott Michael Campbell
Bird's Eye Taylor. . . . .Mike Hickman

Guest Stars:

Margaret MacNeil. . . . .Susan Diol (in "Amazing Grace" and "The Road Home")
William Huddleston. . . . .Robert Foxworth (in "The Sweetest Gift")
Julia Huddleston. . . . .Dixie Carter (in "The Sweetest Gift")
Reverend Joseph Scott. . . . .Joe Seneca (in "Echoes")
Ester Scott. . . . . Olivia Cole (in "Echoes")
Cecile Carver. . . . .Katheryne Dora Brown (in "Echoes")
Dr. Jacob Ferrand. . . . .Richard Kiley (in "Judgement Day")
Sissel Jorgensen. . . . .Stacy Sullivan (in "The Hunt")
Theodore Harland. . . . .John Schneider (in "Amazing Grace")
Aunt Polly Teague. . . . .Mary Jackson (in "A Closer Walk")
Clarence Sweetwater. . . . .Stephen Root (in "To Have and To Hold")
Jonas Tatem. . . . .Michael Bowen (in "The Hostage")
Nathan Stone. . . . .John Loprieno (in "Second Sight")

The show, by neccessity of stretching and altering story to fit into the family tv niche, changed some storylines or even names and backgrounds of the characters. New stories were added, and some characters were revived.

In the book, Ms Alice's daughter Margaret died of childbirth before Christy even entered the scene. In the show, Margaret merely ran away and disappeared, only to return in two episodes, including the series finale, to cause trouble for her mother, her husband (Neil) and Christy.

Fairlight's story, in the book, is a tragic one, while the tv Fairlight enjoys a happier life, but eventually suffered the same fate in the later movie series.

Characters are invented as well, to add to the tv stories, like Daniel Scott, Aunt Hattie McHabe, Jonas Tatem and Nathan Stone. And new storylines are added to the tv show, such as the story of Daniel Scott, the "ghost" stories episodes and, of course, the whole new storyline made for Margaret.

Christy (Part One)
Nineteen- year-old Christy Huddleston arrives from Asheville to teach in the poverty-stricken community of Cutter Gap.

Christy (Part Two)
Christy and Neil spend some "quality" time together and the discovery of a secret stash of moonshine beneath the school causes problems for David and Christy.

Lost and Found
Rob Allen enters a writing contest and Little Burl is injured when he falls through a crevice in the rocks.

Both Your Houses
Opal's baby girl dies. Tom McHone seeks refuge at the mission after being shot and accused of telling the authorities about the moonshining operation.

A Closer Walk
Christy is introduced to Aunt Polly and David rubs Ault Allen the wrong way.

Judgement Day
The mission's director, Dr. Ferrand, pays a visit to Cutter Gap. Christy receives a large number of donations from Ashville, including equipment to hook up a phone line to El Pano.

Eye of the Storm
Dr. MacNeill tries an experimental procedure on Becky O'Teale in hopes of curing her trachoma. Miss Alice disproves of Christy's friendship with Neil.

Amazing Grace
Christy meets Hattie McHabe, Theodore S. Harland arrives to record the folklore of the cove, and Miss Alice's daughter, Margaret, returns from "the dead."

The Sweetest Gift
Cutter Gap prepares for Thanksgiving by holding a turkey hunting contest. Christy's father arrives for a visit and suffers a stroke.

To Have and To Hold
David proposes to Christy and Ida prepares to marry her penpal, Clarence Sweetwater.

The Hunt
David's childhood friend, songbird Sissel Jorgensen, arrives for a visit. Sam Houston and his dog, Singer Lee, search for the great white buck.

A Man's Reach
Rob Allen is offered a college scholorship. Zady Spencer feels left out when Christy begins spending so much time with Rob, tutoring him for his entrance exam.

Ghost Story
Christy and her students set out to disprove a superstition and take a field trip into a cave. Ruby Mae discovers that she is related to a famous heroine.

Echoes
Christy and Miss Alice journey back to Freedom, Kentucky, the site of her first mission. Neil discovers that David proposed to Christy.

The Lie
Daniel Scott tries to make friends with the Spencers. John Spencer becomes enamoured of Christy and Bessie Colburn spreads a malicious rumor.

Green Apples
Dr. MacNeill puts the mission under quarantine after an outbreak of scarlet fever.

The Hostage
Christy is taken hostage by a man who blames Dr. MacNeill for the death of his wife.

Babe in the Woods
Christy finds an abandoned baby in the woods and reconsiders David's marriage proposal in order to adopt it.

Second Sight
A visiting benefactor for the mission seeks to acquire land for his lumber business.

The Road Home
Series Finale. Margaret returns to the cove and Christy is torn between her feelings for David and Neil.

What do you know. Some things never change, in fact, they just get reinforced.

Watching the episodes, I realized how much i had, and still, love the show. I had forgotten how much the lives of the characters affected me. At the same time, I suddenly remembered my feelings about certain characters. Those certainly hadn't changed.

Re-watching the show renewed my...annoyance...with a certain Reverend David Grantland.

It's all coming back to me; the excitement, the pain and sorrow, the love...and the feeling of constantly wanting to grab the nearest plank or pail to whack David on the head with! Stupid naive overzealous love-struck boy!

So many years later (I watched my first episode sometime mid-to-late '99.) and the instant feeling remainds the same. David STILL annoys me to no end! Clumsy, naive, over-eager, doesn't know how to deal with the Cove people, all-around annoying...

Neil is still my choice. He is their Bonnie Prince Neil, as Margaret says. Margaret may have meant it as a bad thing against him, but it's true. And for me, it is a good thing. The best thing about the entire Cove.
I start grinning like mad every time Neil appears, especially when he does things to annoy David. I had forgotten how obviously Neil does things just to annoy that crazy guy. :P GO NEIL!!!

I will admit that each has own good and bad points. David is too goody-goody while Neil can be too rough in his feelings against anything to do with the mission. But on the other hand, David is earnest in his zeal to reform the Cove, while without a doubt, Neil is noble in his work of caring for his people.

And that's that. No question about it.