The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Crane, Rebekah. The Infinite Pieces of Us. Skyscape, 2018.

The novel begins with Esther's family arriving at their new home in Truth or Consequences. They move into a large beige house with an empty swimming pool in the backyard. The house and the desert feel barren and lifeless to Esther, mimicking her despairing emotional state.

Feeling completely out of place and alone, Esther is irritated with her mother, stepfather Tom, and sister Hannah's attempts to fit in, and to cover their former lives. A fanatic Christian, Tom keeps his stepdaughters out of public school in an attempt to keep them out of trouble. He forces them to get involved in church, youth group, and choir. Unsure she even believes in God, Esther resists getting to know her peers at church, fearing their judgment for her secrets.

When Tom hires a cleaning crew a young girl, Color, comes to vacuum Esther's home, offering Esther her first real social interaction outside of church. Because her relationship with her sister has been broken ever since her pregnancy, Esther spends most of her time alone, lying in the empty pool and thinking about her ex-boyfriend Amit and the baby her parents forced her to give up for adoption. Though Esther and Color's first interaction is brief, they meet again at the church festival. Color's vibrant energy and enthusiastic sprit draw Esther outside of herself. The next time she comes to clean, she invites Esther to hang out.

Esther makes another friend in Jesus, when she meets him at the HuggaMug Cafe. Later when Esther meets up with Color in Heaven, her mother's old Blockbuster store converted into a comfortable haven, Esther meets Color's brother Moss. The siblings are also friends with Jose, and the four teenagers get along well. Moss, who Esther has run into on the path along the Rio Grande, is slightly less open at first. Esther, however, is drawn to him immediately, intrigued by his thoughtfulness and stoic demeanor.

While Esther is spending increasing amounts of time with her new friends, she remains distracted by memories of her life in Ohio, and the child she did not even get to see. As she opens up to Color, Jose, and Moss, she is gradually able to confront her unresolved sorrow.

Simultaneously, Esther begins spending time with her choir companion, Beth. Initially, Esther is afraid of befriending her, thinking that Beth's devoutness is a sign of her judgmental attitude. She does not think she could ever trust her with her secret and the truth of her life before New Mexico. When Beth tells Esther she is gay, Esther begins to understand the importance of honesty and openness in forming sustainable friendships. She tells Beth about her secret, and asks for her help to get to Albuquerque to visit a psychic.

Her eagerness to see Dharma, the psychic originated with Color, who suggested she might be able to point Esther on a path of healing. Beth agrees to drive Esther and her friends to Albuquerque, along with the rest of her friends. The psychic tells Esther that she will find what she is looking for at the ocean. Esther and her friends understand that the psychic's reading means Esther must go to California, where she knows the baby's adoptive family lives, to find closure.

Afraid of finding even more questions, rather than the answers she seeks, Esther tells her friends the trip is an impossibility. Despite her trepidations, her friends continue to urge Esther to take the trip, promising to support and assist her. Beth even offers to hack into the adoption agency's website to locate the child's birth certificate and find her address.

Meanwhile, Esther's family life remains tumultuous. Hannah continues to blame Esther for ruining her life and stealing their parents' attention. Tom discovers that Esther has been seeing Moss, a relationship he believes is sinful and will only result in Esther making further foolish decisions. Esther's mother keeps secrets from Tom to protect Esther, and tries to convince herself that, though imperfect, her marriage is good enough.

Desperate to make peace with her loss and to build a new, more sustainable future, Esther accepts her friends' help and sets to finding her daughter. Through a complex series of lies, Beth's expert hacking skills, Color's refurbished car gifted to Esther, the five friends set out to the West Coast. Traveling with her friends, Esther realizes how blessed she is, and how much her life has already changed for the better. Because of the love her friends have shown her, Esther has rediscovered her own capabilities to demonstrate and give love in return.

When they finally arrive at the baby's house, Esther has a conversation with her daughter's adoptive father and finally sees her child for the first time. The moment, although brief, allows Esther to discover her own truth, and to realize that she must relinquish her hold on the past. While the baby will always be a part of her soul, she sees that she does not belong to her anymore. The trip to California grants Esther the closure for which she has been searching for over a year. With the help of her friends and her new openness to a future uncontrolled by her past, Esther finds healing and peace.