In a small town of rolling fields and endless skies lives Mason Mullich, an isolated 15-year-old boy whose family leads a life of quiet desperation. His father, Luke, a grain-factory worker, tries to better his lot by running for county council, while his mother, Layla, holds the family together with heartbreaking determination. When Mason meets Danny, the new girl in town, Mason's focus settles for a moment. Their connection is genuine--a Terabithia of sorts. But when an accident befalls the family and complications set in with Danny, a tragic series of events unfolds. What makes Dandelion more than a straightforward coming-of-age story is the transcendentalist shading Milgard gives to Mason, who posseses an oddly affecting sort of metaphysical lucidity.