This novel tells the story of a sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Eva Marie Olinski, and her winning Academic Bowl team in Epiphany, New York. The team is made up of four students: Noah Gershom, Nadia Diamondstein, Ethan Potter, and Julian Singh. The students meet and become friends before being chosen for Mrs. Olinski's team through a series of Saturday afternoon teas hosted by Julian. The students come together after each one of them has gone on a journey, in which he or she comes to recognize and value kindness.

Mrs. Olinski is paralyzed from the waist down and in a wheelchair. She was injured in a car accident, which killed her husband many years ago. When Mrs. Olinski first started teaching, she worked in a school whose principal was Mrs. Margaret Draper. Mrs. Draper and Mrs. Olinski became friends, and their friendship has continued, even after the...