It all started with a shattering bang. Maura found herself flat on her face on the pavement. For moments there was nothing, just blackness and silence. But she knew. Once again, a bomb had exploded in the streets of Belfast.

Maura lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her life is hard. Her poor mother, thin and tired, depends on her to care for the baby, get her six-year-old brother off to school, and dress and feed her big sister Colleen, who is as helpless as an infant. Maura's big brother Kieran is in prison for sabotage against the Brits; her father is risking the same, or worse, as a member of the Irish Republican Army. And the war goes on and on. It seems so hopeless.

Then, in the wake of the bomb blast, an amazing thing happens. Maura looks up from the pavement and sees a girl lying next to her who looks just like her--except that she's perfect...Also, she's naked! Maura quickly wraps the girl in her own coat and takes her home.

Who is this strange creature? Where has she come from? She seems to know nothing of the world--not even simple things like how to eat or fall asleep or talk. She doesn't understand pain.

Yet she has a magical way with people. The baby stops crying; quarrels dissolve. Even poor, simple minded Colleen responds to her. Maura's mother smiles again, and their home becomes peaceful and full of exciting moments of magic.

When Maura discovers Angela's secret, she trusts her for the miracle that could bring her father and brother home. But Angela doesn't understand Maura's world-a world that spoils miracles, making them go tragically wrong.