Lawanda, a high school girl trying to sell magazines in order to earn money for college, stirs up a lot of controversy in her small hometown when her efforts lead to the development of a friendship between her and Garland, a World War II veteran living out of a bus up on Cade's Hill.
When Sumi's brother leaves for boarding school, her best friend moves away, her grandfather dies, and her mother withdraws into grief, Sumi finds herself facing the beginning of adolescence alone and afraid.
An artist raises sheep, shears them, cards and spins the wool, dyes it, and then weaves a colorful picture of the Kentucky pasture where her lambs were born.