Melody's mother died shortly after Melody was born, and compared to the remarkable person her mother was according to her father's stories, 10-year-old Melody feels completely unremarkable, so when Melody discovers she'll be getting a new stepmother soon, the one birthday wish she has, to have a talk with her mother, may just result in her receiving the most important birthday gift of all.

On a cold winter day in Chicago, Early's father disappeared, and now she, her mother and her brother have been forced to flee their apartment and join the ranks of the homeless--and it is up to Early to hold her family together and solve the mystery surrounding her father.