The main character and narrator of the story is a girl named Katie Takeshima, the middle child in a Japanese-American family.

She cites Lynn's ability to beat their Uncle Katsuhisa, a self-proclaimed chess grand master, at his own game, as an example.

Without Lynn's company, Katie makes friends with a girl called Sylvia "Silly" Kilgore, whose mother also works at the hatchery.

The family decides to move into a house of Lynn's choice to help her recover, which appears to work for a short time.

However, Lynn relapses from distress when Sammy is caught in a metal animal trap on the vast property owned by Mr. Lyndon, the owner of the hatchery.

The day that Lynn dies, Katie's usually calm and restrained father breaks into an angry rage after seeing Sammy struggle with the limp that he had from getting caught in the trap.

The family arrives in California, and when Katie walks on the beach, she can hear her sister's voice in the waves: "Kira-Kira!

Kirkus Reviews wrote, "The vivid writing and the portrayal of a most loving and honorable father lift this above the norm.