In 1950s Alabama during the last polio summer before the Salk vaccine, ten-year-old Tabitha "Tab" Rutland is about to have the time of her life. Tab, a tomboy with a passion for Roy Rogers, seeks adventure with her best friend Maudie May, "the lightest brown colored person" she knows. Tab comes of age in an unforgettable confrontation with human frailty, racial injustice, and the healing power of love.