"Fifteen-year-old Pearl is squatting in an abandoned boathouse with her father, a disgraced college professor, and two other grown men, deep in the swamps of the American South. All four live on the fringe, scavenging what they can--catfish, lumber, scraps for their ailing dog. Despite the isolation, Pearl feels at home with her makeshift family: the three men care for Pearl and teach her what they know of the world ... While Pearl is out scavenging...

During a rough year in which she was placed in the care of her prickly grandfather after her father suffered a stroke, Rosie embarks on a search for her missing dog after he is given away by her estranged mother.