Raised by a homeless drifter in the American southwest, fifteen-year-old Cate has never known what it’s like to have a home or a loving family, let alone how it feels to buy new clothes. But this is the only way of life she’s ever been exposed to: travelling the dusty highway from town to town and living hand to mouth, stealing only when the welfare cheques or food stamps run out. Despite her hardscrabble existence and lack of education, Cate is intelligent, forceful and fiercely loyal to Les, the only parent she has ever known. She’s always been aware that Les kidnapped her from her parents’ campsite when she was just three years old, but can hardly imagine how different her own life would have been if she’d never been taken, or how traumatic her disappearance was for her mother. Les has even called Janice Wingford over the years, to let her know that her daughter is alive. Listening in, Cate has always interpreted her mother’s disbelief as a lack of love.