What is the main conflict in The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich?

The Beet Queen is a critically acclaimed novel that follows the lives of Mary and Karl Adare after their mother abandons them at a fair to benefit orphaned children. After this shocking abandonment, Mary settles in the small North Dakota town of Argus with relatives while Karl chooses a more transient lifestyle. Their lives will intersect at various points, weaving events that will conspire once again to make them a family. It is a novel of inspiration, of love, and of forgiveness that will warm the heart of everyone who reads it.