Aunt Pearl arrives one day pushing a shopping cart full of her worldly goods. Her sister Rose has invited her to come live with her family. Six-year-old Marta is happy to meet her aunt, who takes her out to look for treasure on garbage day, and who shows her camp group how to decorate a coffee table with bottle caps. But almost immediately, Pearl and Rose start to clash--over Pearl's belongings crammed into the house, and over Rose's household rules. As the weeks pass, Pearl grows quieter and more withdrawn, until, one morning, she is gone.