In 1947, after the war, Willa Mae's father returns to the Illinois town where she has lived with her maternal grandparents for the last five of her eleven years, and Willa Mae finds herself struggling to understand old family tensions and secrets.

Inseparable siblings Con and Sofie have loved their mother throughout her struggle with addiction, but when she disappears without warning, the two must decide who they can trust and whether or not they can survive on their own.

With the thread of family that connects them through the generations, Jim born in 1931, Cathy in 1942, Jill in 1969, and Mona in 2006 each find "sixteen" to be the pivotal age in their lives.