In 1906, fifteen-year-old Forrestina Bradley runs away from her stifling life of ease and joins the circus as a tightrope walker.
Along the way, she meets and loves three men-Max, Jack, and George-who each break her heart in vastly different.
After a tragedy forces her to leave the circus, she embarks on a life of nomadic adventure, running a carnival rat-game and becoming involved in an illegal dance hall and moonshine business near the banks of the White River in Arkansas during Prohibition.
In 1906, fifteen-year-old Forrestina Bradley runs away from her stifling life of ease and joins the circus as a tightrope walker