Coming of age in middle America, eighteen-year-old Rosemary evaluates how her entire youth was defined by the presence and forced removal of an endearing chimpanzee who was secretly regarded as a family member and who Rosemary loved as a sister.
When a sudden, shocking event strikes Rosemary Cooke's family, they are each affected and changed by it. As she struggles through the reality of the situation, she must also learn what it means for her personally as well as those she cares about.