The novel’s prologue describes an osprey’s migration path as it finds its way back to Scotland.

Unaware of the bird, an 11-year-old boy named Callum McGregor lives in rural Scotland with his parents and older brother, Graham. His two best friends are named Rob and Euan. On a cold March afternoon, the boys are out riding their bikes when they notice a girl named Iona fishing in the loch. They are amazed to see her catching a trout with her bare hands. Rob charges forward and accuses Iona of poaching. She protests that she wasn’t using a fishing rod. The land belongs to Callum’s family, so Rob appeals to Callum to prohibit her from keeping the fish. Rob then grabs a secret notebook that Iona is trying to hide. In the scuffle, it falls into the loch, and Iona leaps to the opposite bank and disappears, minus her shoes and coat.

Callum and Euan object to Rob’s rude behavior, but Rob says, “[m]y dad lost his business because of her ma. […] She stole every last bit of his money and ran off. She wouldn’t dare put a foot in Scotland again” (7).