Though Madeleine Hopkins is a widow, she is a strong, independent woman. Her rural upbringing in the hippy age gave her an open minded view of the world. As an accomplished market vendor at the local farmers market in the small northern Idaho town of Testament. She shows her skill at bread making, gardening, cheese making and using all these products to cook and process her own down to earth diet, but she also shares by marketing her products in her weekly booth.
Madeleine's practical hard working character is enhanced by the fact that she has dreams that come true, she sees pictures in her mind before events actually happen. Such was the incident of the car accident that took the life of her husband, Beal.
When her son, Steven, brings her grand-daughter, Sage to stay for the summer, Madeleine soon becomes aware of something he isn't telling her. He is mysteriously secretive and emotional, and she is soon confronted with a girl who seems to be having emotional problems. Their plans for a peaceful summer on the farm are quickly altered when Sage's mother arrives on very short notice to pack the girl off to Africa, Steven's new job sight, and a location she, Anastasia, is excited to experience. That was the secret that Steven refused to divulge.
With her grandmother's help, Sage soon researches online the African location that is to be her new home and is terribly upset with the sad conditions there. She fears for their safety from violence and disease. Ultimately she simply refuses to accompany her mother back home when Anastasia comes for her. They separate in tears all around, Madeleine is brokenhearted to see this dissension. Soon Steven and Anastasia are forced to admit that Sage is right on when they are informed that there may be kidnappings and raids near their intended home on a safari resort in the Kenyon bush country.
So Sage is allowed to stay with Madeleine and they settle into a life busy with goat milking, egg gathering, and gardening. They fit in a spirited solstice party with kayaking on the river where they run into Nellie, and old friend of Madeleine's.
Lee, a casual friend, invites them on a camp out in the mountains where they happily pick gallons of huckleberries. Sage, during this time pulls Madeleine out of her reclusive life style and succeeds in getting her to literally, let her hair down.
That is when things began to get quirky. Former events; Sage being accosted on her way to the rural mailbox, finding a hidden bunker built on her property, a beautiful friendly collie showing up at her house, and the strangeness of friend Nellie; all come together to get Madeleine's dreams and premonitions working overtime. When Randy, the local Sheriff, investigates the illegal bunker on her mountain property, it becomes apparent that he has feelings for her she was unaware of. Then because the investigation finds guns and ammo hidden there, the ATF becomes involved.
The mystery deepens, Anastasia and Steven return from Africa with a beautiful Kenyon girl they adopt.
Sage becomes confident and strong while handling these challenges, and Madeleine decides her exile from society has been long enough. A great picture of life in a rural setting, a closeness with the natural world, and the sharing of strong emotions make this a contemporary story you won't soon forget.
