In a series of journal entries and letters to a pen pal, Katie relates her feelings about her father's death in World War II, her mother's remarriage, and the family's move from New York City to Texas.

Told from three viewpoints, a brisk historical tale follows the experiences of two sisters who discover an abandoned baby on the library steps, while their estranged friend, racing to complete an important errand for his World War II soldier brother, jumps to the wrong conclusion.