Patriarch Albert Cheap is a coach yard foreman for the Santa Fe Railroad. The two oldest children are 24-year-old Virginia Ruth and 26-year-old Angela Cecilia, who don't live with their siblings. Mr. Cheap is used to getting bargains in fruits and vegetables to keep up with his children's voracious appetites. It's not only food that Mr. and Mrs. Cheap hunt for bargains for, but everything imaginable, from underwear to shoes to soap to dolls and dishes. They go into detail over other parts of day-to-day living their large family participates in, such as trips to the dentist's office, birthdays, and picnics.