Chasing Redbird is set on a farm near Bybanks, Kentucky. Zinny lives in her family's home which is yoked to her Uncle Nate's and Aunt Jessie's home. One home, Zinny's, is filled with life, noise, and people. The other is quiet, filled with samplers on the walls and a more genteel way of life that attracts Zinny. She shares a bedroom with two older sisters who treat her as though she is more than a little strange.

This is a rural community where everyone knows everyone, and Zinny feels she has no privacy.

Sorrow influences the lives of the Taylors.

Two untimely deaths create introspection and guilt for Zinny. Counterbalancing the sorrow is the crazy way Uncle Nate acts after the death of his daughter and then his wife. Unable to fully accept the loss, he chases his "Redbird", Jessie, and bushwhacks snakes or anything resembling a snake...