The book begins with the start of the year and a small house on wheels rolling along a mountain road. While Marcelle cleans house, a flock of storks passes by overhead. From that moment on, the book follows two simultaneous paths like a "split screen" in a movie: Marcelle's story, and the birds. The months of the year fly by, babies are born to human and bird alike, growing older as the seasons pass. But come September, it is time for the storks to migrate toward Africa...