In the bleak winter of 1956, ten-year-old Kya realizes Pa hasn’t returned for weeks. She imagines he may be dead or drunk and lost, but mostly she fears being discovered and taken by authorities. With money nearly gone, her supplies thin to a few matches, grits, and soap.

When the kerosene lamp sputters out, darkness forces a decision. Kya briefly considers turning herself in for food and school, but rejects leaving the marsh—her only family. She must find her own income and light.

Before dawn, Kya digs two croker sacks of mussels and motors to Jumpin’s Gas and Bait. She negotiates payment—cash for one sack, a tank of gas for the other—and purchases matches, a candle, and grits, resisting candy. To protect herself, she lies that Pa sends regards; Jumpin’ plays along and secretly slips her a Sugar Daddy.

To stay ahead of other pickers, Kya harvests by moon and candle, adds oysters, and sometimes sleeps near gullies to reach Jumpin’s at first light. The mussel money proves steadier than Pa’s “Monday money.” She avoids the Piggly Wiggly and Mrs. Singletary’s school questions, keeps Pa’s absence hidden, and sustains herself on grits and shellfish, stepping firmly into independence.