When Lillian Stone lapses into a coma and is admitted to a San Francisco hospital in the spring of 1969, her only child, twelve-year-old Maggie, is temporarily taken in by her best friend's family. More than a month later, the neighbors can no longer afford to provide for Maggie's room and board. Uprooted again, she is sent to a local orphanage. Just as she's beginning to adapt to life at the orphanage, Ira Stone, a grandfather she never met, shows up unexpectedly and shuttles her 1200 miles away to live at his ranch on the isolated plains of eastern Montana.
Maggie knows nothing about her hard-nosed WWI Veteran Grandpa other than being aware that he and her mother have long been estranged. Thrust into a culture and lifestyle that couldn't be more opposite of her San Francisco upbringing, Maggie is suddenly expected to do household and barnyard chores under the critical eye of a grizzled old rancher.
Ira and Maggie are equally skeptical of each other as they attempt to adapt to the vastly different world they now share. In addition to facing all the challenges in her new life, the worry of whether her mom will ever regain consciousness is never far from Maggie's thoughts. Despite having to overcome the overwhelming obstacles placed in her path, Maggie's grit, determination, and can-do spirit are evident in this heartwarming story of how she wins the love and respect of the members of her new community, not the least of which is her grandfather, Ira Stone.