When Edie Jo Houp's father opens the "biggest can of worms you ever did see" by suggesting that the Vine Street Baptist Church ope its Vacation Bible School to all the children of Half Moon, North Carolina - including the Indian children - practically everyone in town turns on the Houps. Thirteen-year-old Edie Jo isn't sure how she feels about ther daddy's idea. That summer of 1956, however, is one of change and growth. Up at her own private place, she meets and Indian boy named Cherokee Fish. A tentative connection develops between them as they begin to share their secrets and dreams. As the tensions that summer reach their peak, Edie Jo ultimately learns that "friendships don't shape on color."