Over the space of several weeks in the summer of 1935, 13 starving horses and ponies, along with one very fat pony and a goat, are left in Woodhill, Ohio. The people of Woodhill rally behind horse owner Laura Darvey and newly arrived Ramona Hernandez, to help restore the abused horses to health. The unknown person behind the arrival of the horses earns the nickname, The Horse Fairy, but The Horse Fairy is not out to save lives; he is racketeer Bobby Darvey, who is determined to harm Laura and Fire Chief Jake McCann to avenge his cousin, Dan Darvey's death. Bobby wants the abused horses to pass on a disease that will kill all of Laura's horses, and he is determined to see Jake publicly humiliated and forced out of his job. For this, Bobby uses two Woodhill residents who want to oust Jake from the chief's job for their own agenda. Among the victims in Bobby's scheme are Alex Carpenter and Nelson Dobos, who learn too late that Alex's son, Bill, is working for Bobby and could be a danger to them both. With advice from his father, New York City homicide detective J. P. McCann, and the help of Woodhill Police Chief, Matt Gardner, Jake teams up with Bobby's top man, Benjy Talbot, to stop Bobby from carrying out his plans for vengeance.

As a result of having never known his parents, Freddy Pratter never allows anyone to know his true feelings. When newly-divorced Glynis Hampton moves back to a village near Woodhill, a chance meeting and a shared love of photography bring Freddy and Glynis together. With the complications of an old high school sweetheart, a fire, a murder, and personal secrets, it seems unlikely that Freddy and Glynis will be able to reveal their true feelings for one another.

Woodhill is faced with more trouble as the possibility of the closing of the quarry leads to a life-threatening accident that leaves everyone questioning their future.

The first in the series of Firehouse Family books, Memories begins the story of the tumultuous, passionate, and forbidden love affair of Jake McCann and Laura Darvey. After leaving the New York City Fire Department, Jake McCann and his two friends, Freddy Pratter and Mickey Justini, reunite in Woodhill, Ohio to accept positions in the fire department. The three friends all suffer from emotional, personal demons. Sharing a passion for Appaloosa horses, Jake falls in love with Laura Darvey, a woman who is married to a local bootlegger and operator of a protection racket. The affair causes the three friends to become tangled in a series of horrifying crimes that force them all to unexpectedly face their demons.