Lucy Hull a young childrens librarian in Hannibal Missouri finds herself both kidnapper & kidnapped when her favourite patron ten-year-old Ian Drake runs away from home. The precocious Ian is addicted to reading but needs Lucys help to smuggle books past his overbearing mother who has enrolled Ian in weekly anti-gay classes. When Lucy finds Ian camped out in the library after hours with a backpack of provisions & an escape plan she allows herself to be hijacked by him & the pair embark on a spontaneous road trip. But is it just Ian who is running away? & should Lucy really be trying to save a boy from his own parents?