two unrelated young girls who happen to look identical meet by chance. amanda lemmon is an orphan, and she is about to be adopted by the butkises, a family known to "collect" kids. she actually wants her child-loving social worker, diane barrows, to adopt her instead. diane would like to do so, but authorities will not let her because of her low salary and unmarried status. alyssa callaway is coming home from her school piano recital competition, only to find that her wealthy father, roger, is about to marry clarice kensington, an overbearing self-centered gold-digger socialite who plans to send both alyssa and thomas off to boarding school in tibet after marrying roger.