"To twelve-year-old Molly Nathans, perfect is: the number four, the tip of a newly sharpened No.2 pencil, a pad of crisp white paper, her neatly aligned glass animal figurines. What's not perfect is Molly's mother leaving the family to take a faraway job with the promise of returning in one year. What if one year turns into two years turns into forever? So Molly hatches a plan to bring her mother home."--backcover.