Twelve-year-old Suzy Bowles is tired of summers filled with chores on her family farm in Burr Oak, Michigan, and desperate to see the world. When her wayward uncle moves back home to the farm, only to skip his chores every morning for mysterious reasons, Suzy decides to find out what he's up to once and for all. And that's when she meets legendary circus queen Madame Marantette and her ostriches. Before long, Suzy finds herself caught in the fast-paced, hilarious world of ostrich riding, with sets her down the path of adventure that just might be her ticket out of Burr Oak.