Tessie Farrell, an older woman living in South Florida, is exhausted after rescuing a baby osprey on her morning walk. Lying down to rest, she reminisces about her life as a young girl, growing up on a farm in northern New York during the 1950s. Devastated to learn she is adopted, betrayed by her cousin, Caroline, and taunted by her classmates, she struggles to understand why she was unwanted by her biological parents. Isolated from children her own age, she creates her own fantasy world with the help of her horse, Dolly, and two pet geese, Wilbur and Orville. While roaming her fantasy world, she befriends an older woman, Maudie, who plays an important role in helping Tessie find herself. This is the story of a spunky young girl's courage, self-discovery, and love, and a young girl's struggle to overcome the pain of being adopted.