Following the wildly hopeful, proud celebration of the past weekend with friends and family, teenager Enya Charles sits in her new school classroom under ominous, stormy skies signaling undetected, turbulent times that await her. She's won a scholarship to the prestigious school at St. Mary's Convent and carries the hopes of an entire village with her. She's only the third student in the town's two primary schools' sixty-year history to attend St. Mary's. A country girl, Enya was frequently tormented by other students because she did not share their background and because she did not look like them. Enya struggles to make the right choices for a successful, rewarding life in the face of fear, isolation, mistakes, and other obstacles. When she meets two other students who do not completely conform to the rest of their class, she forms new, solid friendships.
Through her many coming-of-age trials, Enya finds release and peace when writing poetry, knowing she must keep trying and not lose faith.