Rowena May Braunhauser, almost four when her mother died, feared her father, even after he gave her up for adoption a year later.  With an unexplained and intense dread of school, Rowena still befriends Jennifer Roblès, the struggling daughter of Garwood’s only Mexican family.  Their closeness, comprising deep love and great sorrow, embraces a lifetime.

A deep depression accompanies unexpected events; the death of her illegitimate, but loved child, and the inheritance of great wealth.  When exposed to people with greater needs, her riches, previously seen as a curse, become something to be shared with those for whom God weeps.