[1] The novel is set prior to World War I in the small Ontario town of Deseronto, where the O'Neil family owns a hotel.

The book follows the story of Grania O'Neil, a girl who lost her hearing when she was five years old as a result of contracting scarlet fever.

The novel follows Grania and her family as they learn to accept and adapt to her as a non-hearing person.

The second half of the novel alternates between Grania's narrative and that of her young husband, Jim, who becomes a stretcher bearer in the First World War.

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