Summary

It is February 20, 2002, near the Platte River in Kearney, Nebraska, and nearly half a million sandhill cranes begin their descent on this area just as they do every year at this time. They come from New Mexico, Texas and Mexico to stay for a few weeks before moving on to Alaska and Canada. The cranes have been following this pattern for centuries and it is part of their internal knowing. The birds begin to settle for the night when the sound of screeching tires and brakes interrupts their repose as a truck flips into the air and drills into a nearby field.

In 'Her brother needed her', Karin Schluter is driving to Kearney, Nebraska, from her home in Sioux City, South Dakota, because her brother, Mark, has been badly injured in a truck...