Named after the attack that launched her country into war, Pearl Harbor Keenan has become accustomed to occasional encounters with the mysterious woman her town calls Walking Mary. No one in Framburg, Illinois, seems to know why Walking Mary meets every train that runs through their sleepy town, morning, noon, and night, as she has for forty years. Only Pearl thinks to question why, to reach out -- and to discover that what she might receive from this unlikely friendship far surpasses anything she ever could think to give. And only Pearl's younger brother can see, all too clearly, that Pearl's friendship with Walking Mary threatens not only the fragile peace within their family, but also those around them -- their friends, and even the town itself. James VanOosting's quietly powerful story examines the coming of age of one sister and brother within the larger structures of family and community.