Mary Francis's world is split in two when her father loses his job in California during the Great Depression and finds another one in Hardenville, Massachusetts. Unwilling to give up her dreams of a film career for her son, Leland, Mary Francis's mother refuses to leave their home in Beverly Hills. So, Mary Francis, her father, and grandmother go on to New England without them. Determined to keep an eye on the other half of her family, Mary Francis works on her "gift," the ability to have "out-of-body" experiences. She hopes to get so good at it that she'll be able to "travel" to California to check on her mother and Leland. While Mary Francis practices her developing talent, her parents become more estranged, and she begins to fear they'll never all be living in the same place again.
Quirky but believable characters and a look at the early days of the movie industry send this story off in funny, poignant, and unexpected directions.