When thirteen-year-old Catriona Cottle's grandmother dies, she is shocked to discover family members she never knew existed. Her Aunt Marlow insists that Catriona move to the states in spite of Catriona's reluctance to leave her native England and her dog, Quigley, behind. Finding it hard to fit in the family when she's expected to use her unusual abilities for something she can't do, she runs away and join the circus, only to discover that's not where she belongs, either.