Twelve-year-old Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny, isolated piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Abandoned and set adrift in a small boat when she was just hours old, Crow's only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar. Crow has always been curious about the world around her, but it isn't until the night a mysterious fire...

Ira and Zac, veterans of the foster system, are being uprooted again. This time their destination is Skilly House, a London-based home for children. There, Ira, eleven, and Zac, nine, befriend the staff and other kids, all the while hoping to find their own family to belong to. When they're invited to spend a holiday with Martha, a retiree, the visit opens the children's eyes to what life in a permanent home might be like. But a tragic accident soon...