A family, like a quilt, can be pieced together in many ways. And a quilt, like a family, is rich with stories. Lacey's great-grandmother has a trunkful of family quilts, and stories, she loves to share with Lacey. And the stories the old quilts tell help Lacey understand not only the generations that have come before her, but her own family as well.

Take Daniel, Lacey's great-great-grandfather, growing up on his grandparents' Illinois farm in 1890. Daniel is happy on the farm, but he is determined to find a way to get out west to visit his father so they can be a whole family again. He hatches an ingenious if risky scheme to make the trip, but when he arrives at the depot in Valentine, Nebraska, he finds the little town abuzz with fears of a Sioux uprising. And an even bigger surprise awaits him at his father's cabin, forcing Daniel to rethink his idea of what makes a family whole.