For the young, spirited nine-year-old Ociee Nash, nothing could be more exciting than romping through her beloved Mississippi countryside with her brother, Ben, and her faithful four-legged companion, "Woofer." But Ociee's idyllic life is thrown into a tailspin when her Papa realizes that since the death of Ociee's mother, and Ociee's run-in with a mysterious Gypsy, the rough and tumble world of their rural farm is not the place for Ociee to be growing up. Reluctantly, Papa decides it is time to send Ociee to Asheville, N.C., where her Aunt Mamie can teach her to become "a young lady." With a heavy heart, Ociee boards the train bound for her uncertain new life far from the home she's always known.