The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Voigt, Cynthia. Homecoming. Simon and Schuster, New York, NY, 1981. Kindle AZW file.

Dicey Tillerman and her three siblings are traveling with their mother Liza from their home in Provincetown to Bridgeport. Their mother walks away at a mall, leaving the four children in the car. Dicey uses the small amount of money that she has to buy dinner for the children. Since they must sleep in the car, Dicey fears that police will split them up into foster homes if anyone discovers they are alone. The next day, Dicey decides they will have to walk to Bridgeport where Liza's aunt lives. From the map, Dicey believes it will take two or three days. They sleep outside, and Dicey is horrified the next morning to discover how little distance they have covered.

Dicey's siblings are ten-year-old James, nine-year-old Maybeth, and six-year-old Sammy. Over the next few days, they struggle to keep going because Dicey does not see another option. When they are still days away from Bridgeport, they sleep in a park near a college campus. A student named Windy provides them with a meal at a diner and a dry place to sleep. The next day, Windy's roommate Stewart drives the children to Bridgeport. That evening, their cousin Eunice arrives home from work, shocked at the four children waiting on her steps.

Eunice seeks advice from her priest and agrees that it is her duty to give up her plan to become a nun and take care of the children. Her house is small, and Eunice is not prepared for the chaos of four children. Father Joseph puts Dicey in contact with police who discover Liza is in a mental hospital, completely catatonic. Dicey soon learns that Eunice is considering sending Sammy somewhere else to live and Maybeth may be sent to a special school. Dicey takes over most of the chores for Eunice's family, and she sets up several jobs washing windows. She saves all the money for the children's future. When she fears the children are going to be split up, Dicey decides to seek out their grandmother, Abigail Tillerman, in Crisfield. James and Sammy refuse to let Dicey go on her own, insisting that staying together is the most important thing.

Dicey spends most of the money she saved to buy bus tickets that will get them part of the way to Crisfield. She stops at a farm to pick tomatoes, hoping to earn a little money. Mr. Rudyard, the farm owner, turns out to be a cruel, threatening man. Then, the children encounter Will Hawkins, a kind man who owns a small traveling circus. Will protects the children over the next few days as they travel closer to Crisfield. Eventually, Will takes them to Crisfield and agrees to let them meet Abigail on their own.

The Tillerman farm is neglected and run-down, but Dicey sees it as a place the children can stay together. Abigail is unwelcoming but allows the children to spend a night. Dicey sets out to do chores, hoping to prove that Abigail needs them. After a few days, Abigail makes it clear that she enjoys her life as it is and that she will not change her mind. She decides the children will stay until Eunice can arrange for them to return to Bridgeport. Abigail enrolls them in school at Crisfield while they wait. On the day of enrollment, James suggests several ways to make money on the farm. Abigail talks to a friend about Social Security benefits and begins to consider some of James's ideas. On the way home that day, Abigail agrees that the children will make their home with her.