In 1940, torrential rains washed out the dam on the Tuckasegee River in North Carolina. Fourteen-year-old Wallis Ann Stamper and her family miraculously survived the flood, but their troubles had only begun: their house was swept away, and they were left with nothing. Wallis Ann is left to care for her younger brother, Seff, and her older sister, Lacey—who does not speak, but possesses an astonishing gift: she can reproduce any melody she hears with perfect accuracy. Unable to put down roots anywhere, the Stampers are forced to wander in search of food and work…
Lacey’s unusual talent helps them join a traveling circus, but there they too face new ordeals. And yet Wallis Ann stubbornly holds on to life and hope… Will she find love and manage to break free?