While the rest of the family winters at Viamede, Edward and Zoe tend to affairs at Ion and endure an unwelcome guest. Later, while on a business trip, Edward is injured in a train wreck, and the rest of the family returns from Viamede to be with him. At sea, Captain Raymond receives news that causes him to make a life-changing descion, and back at home, baby Elsie suffers when someone else cannot control their temper. Elsie's Kith and Kin is the twelfth book in the original, unabridged nineteenth century Martha Finley classic, the Elsie Dinsmore Series. These books are best when read in order.