Plenty of things make eight-year-old Maddie nervous: her too-small feet, climbing high places, not always knowing what to say, and especially her new home in the Virginia countryside with Sam, her mom's new husband. To her surprise, Sam turns out to understand all those things and more—like how to learn the weather from a cat, what kind of treasure you can find at the dump, and where to find a color called sky-blue pink. Through her growing bond with Sam, Maddie finds the courage to face many of her fears and the wisdom to see things she never believed could be real.