It's 1815, in the small town of Heron's Creek, Georgia, when Yip Tolroy is born. His father disappeared; his mother runs the general store. Yip doesn't speak, and is a social outcast. When he learns to read and write, Yip begins to transform his life. At the age of fifteen Yip witnesses the discovery of gold, meets and befriends Dud Carter... and commits a grievous crime. Now Yip and Dud are on the run across the American frontier--until the day they must return to Heron's Creek and the fate that awaits them--Adapted from front book jacket flap.