Claire is in for some surprises when she and her mother go to visit her grandmother in Smallwood, British Columbia. The girl has never been to the small town in which her mother grew up, and she has never met her father. Once in Smallwood, Claire tries to find out about her background and why everyone calls her "Janey's girl." It soon becomes clear that a divorced man with a young son who has recently returned to town is her father, and that her mother is still bitter about their relationship, which broke off when she became pregnant as a teenager.