St. Paul, Minnesota, 1946: As a child, Shannon listened to her father's stories of a motherless princess who ventured far from her kingdom, connected to home by only the magic of a fine, silver thread. As a young woman, introspective and quirky, Shannon knows she is neither a princess nor an adventuress - that would more likely be her sister, Eliza. But when Shannon barely survives a year in quarantine for a deadly disease, losing any hope of motherhood herself, and when Eliza runs away after a brutal attack, the fairy tale seems all too real. On her quest to bring Eliza home, Shannon discovers a secret child, the love of a good man, and the true meaning of family remade. Despite her new-found happiness, Shannon questions whether the bond between sisters is strong enough to save Eliza.