When her mom's occasional "hard nights" away from home become more frequent, her mostly absent father decides Rayona needs a place to stay -- although not with him. A couple of under-the -table foster care placements later, he has no choice but to take her to stay with his mother, aunt, and grandmother in Kentucky, relatives Rayona has never met. The surprises that await her there lead Rayona to comment to herself, "I'll never again be able to look out a small window and see my whole world from it...".

With humor and poignancy, Michael Dorris has written a jewel of a novel about betrayal, forgiveness, and the unbreakable bonds of family.