A magnificent gyrfalcon, soaring over the irocky cliffs of the Pacific Northwest, is winged by a hunter and falls to earth. Rescued and taken to a nearby farmhouse, the bird will irrevocably change the lives of her savior, Michael Somers, and the woman and child he comes to love.

After many years, Somers has returned to his hometown of Little River Bend to unlock secrets from his own past--secrets that almost drove him to destroy his family in a night of irrational violence. Shunned by his neighbors, he is determined to heal the bird and release her to freedom. Watching from afar as Somers coaxes the bird to fly is Jamie Baker, a deeply troubled little boy who lost the power of speech after witnessing his father's death in a hunting accident.

Through caring for the falcon, a tender and emotional bond forms between the child, his mother--who yearns to free her child from his self-made prison--and the strange man who seems able to heal.