Sparrow James, recent high school graduate, is destitute, homeless, and completely alone...until an eccentric elderly woman named Etta White offers her a job as a live-in helper. The two quickly form a bond of friendship that goes far beyond employer/employee. When Sparrow meets Etta's son, a soldier home on leave, the pair begin corresponding via letter, neither realizing the missives are exactly what they both need to heal their broken lives. But Job's letters stop, and Sparrow fears the worst. If that's not bad enough, Sparrow finds out Etta is battling cancer, and the woman's time may be short. Sparrow's world begins to crumble around her and the only one that can stop the destruction is a soldier missing on the other side of the world. Job and Etta...soldier and mother. Sparrow's only lifelines in a cold, cruel world. What will Sparrow do when those two abruptly snap?