Lark Erhardt, the six-year-old narrator of , and her fiercely independent mother dream of owning their own house; they have their hearts set on the Cape Ann, chosen from a house catalog. But when Larks fathers gambling threatens the down payment her mother has worked so hard to save, Larks mother takes matters into her own indomitable hands. A disarmingly involving portrait of a family struggling to stay together through the Great Depression, is an unforgettable story of life from a childs-eye view.