Summary

The novel begins as Crow, the narrator, introduces herself. She told how as a newborn she was tied into a small skiff and sent to sea. The skiff washed up on a small island. Barely a few hours old, she was discovered by Osh, a man who lived alone on an otherwise uninhabited rock off the coast of Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He took her in and raised her. The two lived in a cottage with a small garden. As Crow got older however, she decided to learn about where she came from and why her family had sent her away.

Crow did not know exactly when she was born. Even though she was only a few hours old when Osh found her, he did not have a calendar to mark the day. There were other important days that they simply remembered rather...