After his mother dies, Loren Creek, a precocious fourteen year old, flees the foster-care system in Tennessee by moving to North Carolina. With the help of a curmudgeonly mountain man she manages to evade detection by assuming the identity of a boy. She reluctantly becomes the kicker on the school football team, and becomes popular with boys and girls alike, causing some stressful and confusing, even dangerous, situations. Meanwhile, Loren's foster-care guardian takes her disappearance personally. He won't give up until he finds her and places her with what he considers a good family. A confrontation is inevitable.
