Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is the daughter of a drifter who, in the summer of 1936, sends her to stay with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up, and where she hopes to find out some things about his past.
When his parents separate, Daniel very unhappily moves to a cottage on While-A-Way Lane, but neighbor Tilda Butter helps him discover he has a special gift like hers.--