In 1970-71, accompanied by memories of home, an academic grant, and previous trips to Japan, Marina O'Brien anticipates a solitary year in Kyoto while translating a medieval diary. An unexpected invitation to a moon-viewing party at a temple and a love affair leads to a sorting out that will take her back to the States, a new job, and work on the reconstruction of an abandoned farmhouse in Pennsylvania.

Josie is an imaginative 9 year-old living in Bratt, Tennessee. Her 4 grade teacher integrates maps and social studies with the folktales she reads during story time. Josie longs to see the magic in stories about Aladdin and Sinbad with her eyes and not just her imagination. When her father loses his job in Tennessee, the family moves to Michigan while he works in an automobile factory. Although homesick, Josie and her younger brother Will adjust to their new school. Before Christmas their father is laid off. While driving home to Tennessee their car skids on an icy patch of road; a tragic...