Raymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw Raymie and some of the other contestants into an unlikely friendship and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways.