It started on the Magdalena River, the 1960s when life had been simple and reassuring. A river and pueblos ready to absorb the gospel message her Christian missionary family would bring. A river where Ellie suddenly changed, that birthday when two books arrived: Uncle Tom's Cabin about American slavery, and The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank with its Nazi overlay. Books full of sorrow and evil that she'd never heard of, so different to past tales of romance and happy endings. Now it became a painful time when life was no longer simple; her parents whose Bible message had always seemed purposeful and right, and her mentor the ex-priest with secrets of his own, teaching her compassion and mercy. Also Aunt Lizzie, an irreverent model of womanhood and freedom for Ellie to observe. And high on the admiration scale was Dr. Britten, that wonderful man living a wealthy secluded life behind the river.

This is a coming of age story. An honest unflinching look at Ellie young and lonely, trying to hold onto innocence while at the same time struggling to define her own belief system as events begin to crash down around her. Who can she trust, and is she strong enough to succeed and run with that freedom she optimistically craves?