On a chilly October morning in 1858, ten-year-old Jim Peck remains alone beside the fresh Kentucky grave of his mother. He struggles to gather his memories before they are blown across the weathered headstones and out of his life forever. Later that night, the sting of desertion deepens when his distraught father leaves Jim and his four younger siblings in the care of their Aunt Sally and Uncle Zur. As the children grapple with their personal loss, an even larger tragedy begins to seep through the cracks of their already fragile world. Neighbors line up against neighbors as Kentuckians are...

Claire Casey is used to getting used to new places. She has been doing so for the past ten years of her twelve-year-old life. Claire isn't sure why her mother decides every several years to pack up her daughter and move across the state or across the country or, this last time, across the ocean. But as places go, Claire is content enough with the small town of Avalon on the other side of the channel from the big city of Los Angeles. The island is wrapped in a mist of romance, and having a mother who manages one of the most popular hotels on Catalina allows Claire a front row seat to that...