Twelve-year-old Ko Bo Bo lives with his uncle U Ba in Kalaw, a town in Burma. He is a child with an unusual gift: Bo Bo can read people's emotions in their eyes. His father comes to visit him once a year, and he can hardly remember his mother. Then U Ba tells him of a great love, which threatens to break down in the whirlwind of political events; of the bravery of the heart; and of Bo Bo's mother's mysterious illness. Convinced that he can heal her, Bo Bo decides to set out in search of his parents.