At 85, Helen Bryan suffers from severe arthritis and problems with balance. She’s also stubbornly independent and has trouble trusting other people. She brings these traits to a dual quest initiated by the appearance of a bird at a feeder in her yard and her dead husband standing at the foot of her bed.
 
The bird could be a new species and might bring much-wanted meaning to her life. The dead husband gives her a mystery to solve, a riddle that will take her places she doesn’t want to go down a path she must follow.
 
The two quests become deeply intertwined as Helen finds resources, both internal and external, that give her the resilience and strength she needs. In the end, she achieves her goals, although in ways she wouldn’t have expected.