In 1937 thirteen-year-old LaMarr's flamboyant show girl mother, Charmaine,
flies off with a stunt pilot friend and doesn't return. Sent South to live
with an aunt and uncle, LaMarr exchanges her carefree, vagabond life for a
"proper" upbringing.
She soon encounters George McClendon Tyler, a crusty old man who writes pulp
Westerns and lives behind her uncle's barber shop with his dog, Button.
LaMarr also meets a spooky, green-eyed boy who says his name is Truly
("What's his first name? Yours?" asks Mister George). But Truly is serious
business, and whatever secrets he's hiding disturb LaMarr profoundly. Mister
George encourages LaMarr to write down Truly's story, and in so doing, she
discovers truths that will ultimately help her accept the unacceptable and
prove that she is indeed "a born-to-fly birdie."
