Emmy Horvath, a farm girl, innocently reveals to her mother and father that she can read their minds and the minds of others. She takes her ability for granted, but her psychic power terrifies her parents, who worry that she'll be condemned as a witch and taken away from them. Emmy flees to an unfamiliar church, where she prays, "Make me not a witch." A priest sees her and persuades her to tell him her secret. She does, but makes him promise to tell no one. Later, a fisherman turns up on a beach. The fisherman knows that two children are trapped alone on an island, but which one? The old man's paralytic stroke prevents him from being able to tell anyone. The priest, who has been called to the fisherman's side, knows that the one person who can enter the old man's mind is the girl with the paranormal gift.
—J. Spurlin