A Better Place told of life in and around Greytown, in the Wairarapa Valley, in the 1860s when a young Englishman John Johnson came to New Zealand hoping to farm his own land. Greytown was the first inland town in New Zealand and the Small Farms’ Association made it possible for immigrants with few means, like the Johnsons to buy land. After two years John was joined by his wife Kate and son Jake, aged ten, and nine-year-old daughter Cathy. Kate came from a wealthier background, but she worked alongside her husband, milking cows and growing food in their garden. In Changing Fortunes, set in the 1870s, the family has become an important part of the community, sharing the good and the challenging times with the other settlers, their children growing up and beginning to make their own lives.