Lily on the Hill is a fictional story based on facts surrounding the regrading of Denny Hill in Seattle in 1906. The area is now the site of the Space Needle. Lily Lodge lives on Denny Hill with her older siblings. Seattle city engineers plan to level the hill, destroying homes and the beautiful Washington Hotel. Lily's mother refuses to sign over their home until Father returns from sea, and the city proceeds to dig around them, leaving the Lodge family literally on the edge. Will Father return in time?