Beth Stevens is a naive, socially inept 13-year-old girl, growing up in the early 1980's, at odds with both family and classmates. She is torn between the expectations of her professor dad, which seem overly demanding, and the subculture of her small Indiana town, which offers freedom but little support. She clings to Becky, her former babysitter who now sells pizzas at her boyfriend's family business. Beth composes an essay telling why she admires Becky for a school contest, and is thrilled when it is chosen to be read at a parents' meeting--but shortly afterward, Becky admits a terrible secret. Beth must grow up very quickly as she deals with the emotional fallout from this and decides whether to still read her essay in public. She grapples with her view of human nature, and of God, through various situations (including a tornado, a tent revival, and babysitting in a funeral home) before the dilemma is happily resolved.