Deep in an isolated Appalachian hollow cleaved into ancient mountains by an unfettered river, a troubled girl and a devout Dunkard form a tenuous friendship. What begins as an interruption to the old man's hermetic lifestyle and a challenge to his strict religious beliefs becomes a makeshift family. The Dunkard, Pearl, her son, and her autistic daughter forge hardscrabble lives that neither hard seasons nor lean times can imperil. Progress is another matter altogether-and when it threatens their homestead, the son faces an excruciating decision.