After becoming injured and disabled in a farm accident and experiencing the break-up of her family, Emaline learns to carry on with life in small town Saskatchewan during the 1960s. In an effort to manage the farm work, Emaline and her mother come to count on Angus, a "Crazy Man" from the local hospital for people with mental illness. Angus is ostracized from the local community out of fear instead of fact. In the unfolding events, Emaline's self-concept and personal standards take shape. Angus becomes part of the healing process and the economic success of Emaline and her mother. .

English language arts grade 6 (2009). "Told in narrative form, Emaline's first-person voice tells a story of a young girl's struggle to sort out the adult world around her."--Ministry of Education website.