At 15, Tamara has survived the foster care system through brains, will, and attitude. Now close to getting out, she dreams of being a model. First, though, there’s high school to get through, along with her teacher’s latest community project — volunteering at the local seniors home. Tamara doubts she can endure either the residents or the smells. Then she’s assigned to Jean Barclay — a cranky, wealthy, and extremely frail former schoolteacher. As the two warily size each other up, they realize each is the key to achieving their own very different goals. Miss Barclay wants to attend Wagner’s Ring Cycle in Seattle — a trip doctors insist she’s too weak to undertake. Tamara wants to enroll in modeling school in Vancouver — an expense she can’t begin to afford.
