When Mandy''s mother nearly dies giving birth to her baby brother, Mandy is forced to give up going to school. Since her mother is so ill, Mandy has to take care of the new baby and cook, clean, keep house for the rest of her family. Some days the work seems like more than Mandy can handle. Mandy always felt she didn''t belong in Goose Rock, Kentucky, anyway, she''s sure that somewhere in the world there are finer things to be had, and she want''s them.
Six weeks of much responsibility are hard, but then Mama and Daddy surprise Mandy. She going to spend Christmas with her grandparents in Memphis------ a big glamorous city. Mandy discovers kinfolk she never knew much about. She learns from them about her parents--------- stories that make her see them, and Goose Rock, in a different light. Now that Mandy''s discovered so much about her family, how will her dreams change?