Mt. Angel lies curled tight in a quilt of farm fields: a patchwork of hops and vineyards alternating among grass seed, marionberries and orchardsÑall stitched together by fence posts and wire.
LaurenÕs Grandfather Virgil Bolton has AlzheimerÕs. And so the summer before her seventh grade year, Lauren comes to spend July and August with her grandparents in Mt. Angel.
Lauren lends a hand to her energetic grandmother and sees for herself the compassion friends bestow upon her grandfather. Lauren is also there to see the cruelty shown to the outcast Gordy.
As summer days pass, Lauren struggles to stand up for Gordy and come to grips with her papa VirgilÕs illness.