Timid six-year-old Davida Kincaid, the daughter of a garbage man and a mother she does not understand, learns how to be strong and courageous while growing up a middle child in a family of eighteen children in South Carolina during the 1950s. Davida overcomes various challenges to her family, her character, and her peace when the family moves to Marshall Village. Everybody acquires new friends, including two that jeopardize the family unit, but Davida struggles with one change that catches her completely by surprise.