Elnora Comstock has always felt different. Raised on the edge of the vast Limberlost Swamp, her life is forever associated with the death of her father, who drowned in quicksand while her mother Katharine was going into labor. Despite this tragedy, her mother has maintained a reverence for the swamp, refusing to sell their land for timber or mineral rights like most of her neighbors have done. Now a teenager, Elnora struggles to connect with other high schoolers, most of whom are unaccustomed to the rhythms of the natural world. Mired in poverty, she refuses to give up, soon excelling in her classes and becoming an accomplished violinist. Nevertheless, she still feels she must prove herself to her mother, who remains stuck in the past.