Birdy Flynn carries a lot of secrets. The time boys tortured a cat and Birdy had to drown it in the river to stop it from suffering. The time Mrs. Cope, the teacher, touched Birdy. The gypsy girl at school who Birdy likes. But no one can know about any of these secrets. Because Birdy's other secret is that while she fights as good as the boys, she is a girl, and she doesn't always feel like a girl is supposed to. She's growing up in an imperfect family, and an imperfect world, and wants to become the person she was meant to be.