Oswald T. Campbell aged fifty-two down-&-out in a Chicago winter is given only months to live unless he moves South. He finds himself in the small town of Lost River Alabama where the residents are friendly if feud-prone & eccentric to a fault. One of them Roy keeps a red cardinal a once wounded bird called Jack in the village store. Patsy a sad sweet little kid with a crippled leg from the trailer park up in the woods takes to dropping by the store
- & falls in love with Jack. Flagg takes us on an emotional roller-coaster ride through the lives & hearts of an engaging crew of misfits fixers & ordinary good-hearted folk set against the vivid natural backdrop of a mellow Alabama winter along the riverside where birds & fish abound. Her enchanting story culminates at Christmastide with surprises & a magical redbird moment.