Becca King and her mother are on the run from her stepfather who has used Becca's talent for hearing 'whispers' to make a large and illegal sum of money. Now their options for safety are running out. In the town of Langley on Whidbey Island, Becca finds refuge in the home of her mother's childhood friend while her mother continues on to Canada in search of safety.

But on her first day in town Becca meets sixteen-year-old Derric Mathieson, a Ugandan orphan who was adopted at the age of ten by the town's Deputy Sheriff. Derric also has a secret that no one on Whidbey Island knows, and he and Becca form a bond that can't be broken. Becca is convinced that she's the only person who can truly help him, and just maybe Derric can convince Becca that life is too short to live on the run.