Loretta Fontaine and Vickilyn Fontaine Clayton, two black sisters living in a small Oklahoma town who attempt to raise their rambunctious teenage niece, Toby Reed (played by La Verne Anderson) after her parents are killed in a car accident. Vicklyn runs a curio shop called Small World Miniatures, and Loretta is a hostess at Cafe Jacques. All three live at 731 Oakwood Avenue in Ponca City.