Patty is the newest adopted member of the twelve child Baker family, but Patty's sister Hilary makes it clear that she thinks the Baker family is large enough.

Mr. and Mrs. Baker have adopted 12 children. Kenny has a terrible accident and is going blind. He needs an operation but it may not cure him.

Called away for a short trip, Mrs. Baker hires a baby-sitter to watch over her twelve adopted children—Christine, Mark, Hilary, Olivia, Collette, Patty, Kenny, Howie, Kevin, Terry, Jack, and Dixie—but Miss Peabody is anything but perfect to the Baker brood.

As soon as the school bully finds out that he can easily make Olivia cry, he repeatedly teases her outside the school building, making cruel jokes about her upcoming science project.