Mrs. Palfrey, an elegant, genteel widow, came from Scotland to London to take up residence at the Claremont Hotel. Though she had high hopes for the cosmopolitan pleasures of living in a big city, she is soon filled with a sense of uneasiness and gloom.
At the age of fifteen, Jolene, a free-spirited orphan, embarks on a decade-long cross-country adventure, where she experiences life, love, heartbreak, and freedom.