The book opens with an analogy of a Ferris wheel, the seasons and life. Everything is a cycle and everything is changing, even when some things will return to nearly what they were before, they are never quite the same. The prologue also hints at the chance of people meeting and changing the outcome of all involved. It sets the stage for the reader to be carried away.

Winnie Foster feels trapped and dreams of the day she can gain freedom from her family. She thinks of running away, but backs out at the last minute, knowing she has nowhere to go and no one to help her. In a way, her dream is realized when she runs into Jesse Tuck.

Jesse, his brother Miles and his mother, Mae, kidnap Winnie. She is not scared and does not yell for help. Although she wants to go...