Mariette Hartley guest stars as the Widow Thurman, for whom Charles (Michael Landon) does some carpentry work. As previously agreed upon, the widow pays Charles with a set of expensive china, intended as a surprise gift for Charles' wife, Caroline (Karen Grassle). In order to keep the surprise, Charles tells several different lies to several different people -- and as a result, his children, along with everyone else in town, suspect Charles of having an affair with the attractive Mrs. Thurman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi