Before his accident, Sasha Harless promised her brother Michael she would leave Caboose, West Virginia, for a better life someday. He'd been her caretaker since their mother ran off and their father died in the mines. Now, she's in foster care, feeling more stuck and broken than ever. Forced to return to school, Sasha is introduced to poetry, and finds it's a new way to express her losses when spoken words just won't do. She also discovers relatives she didn't know she had. But just as she's settling into her new life, tragedy strikes the mine her cousin in works in. Fearing the worst, Sasha takes her younger cousin Mikey and finally makes her escape. But will running from Caboose really fix the pain in Sasha's life, or will she have to find a new way to heal?