Three sisters living on a Midwestern farm in 1934 narrate their stories of hardship, crime, fantasy, and love. Each voice is distintive and conveys its own interpretation of shared events: the appearance of a sinister revivalist preacher, hunger-driven train riders, and the backwoods discovery of a dead baby. Seven-year-old Nellie see the world through magical eyes with visions of local Indians, sky dancers, and a boy from outer space. Eleven-year-old Irene is arrogant, over-confident, and judgmental to a fault. Flora, at seventeen, wants nothing more that to find a husband, but a vicious rumor quashes her hops. Through their voices we view their worlds and those of Ma and Pa, whose quiet resilience reveals the ongoing struggle to survive.