The strangest thing about moths is that they crash headlong into their own destruction. Every summer Pete Shelton helps his friend Abe McMichaels build Riverside. This nature reserve is dedicated to the memory of Paul, Abe's long-dead brother who was a star in their small town. But one summer, everything changes. Seemingly out of nowhere, a tall, red-haired girl named Nora shows up with just the clothes on her back. A troubled runaway, she convincingly claims to be Abe's niece-Paul's daughter. Bad blood between Nora's mother and the McMichaels has kept Nora away from Riverside all her life, never knowing anything about her father. Although enemies at first, Nora and Pete slowly become allies in piecing together their shadowy pasts, ultimately discovering that their lives intertwine in a way they never could have imagined.