It is about a teenager who builds a Whirligig in each of the corners of the United States in order to pay restitution (and to find redemption for himself) after he kills another person, by accident, in a suicide attempt by car crash.

Instead of a conventional prison sentence, Brent agrees to a form of restitution chosen by Lea's mother.

It took a bad situation to change his perspective, and he found purpose - to share Lea’s spirit among people she did not know.

He receives a bus pass from Lea's family and supplies to help him build his whirligigs, hoping to find meaning in his life.

His last whirligig was built in Weeksboro, Maine, a model of Lea Zamora which spun its arms in the wind.

He decides to place a whirligig in every state, eventually facing his parents and Lea's mother again.

They give hope to others, such as the supposed prayer to the wind (which is actually Lea's name written on the whirligig).