Almost twelve years old, Cassie is good at finding her neighbors' pet peacocks but not so good at figuring out the changes in her parents, her older sister, and her best friend Jonas.
Naomi, an Amish girl whose elders have impressed upon her the importance of adhering to the simple ways of her people, is horrified when one of her hen eggs hatches into an extremely fancy bird.
Tired of the bragging of Percival the peacock, Poulette convinces the other hens in the barnyard that they can outperform the boastful bird in a ballet she creates.
A peacock called Limelight Larry wants to be the star of the book named for him. But soon other animals are cluttering the pages. When the star finally has his moment in the spotlight, what has happened to all his friends?
"Young Flannery collects birds of every type she can find. But when she brings home a peacock to be the king of her collection, he refuses to show off his colourful tail"--Front jacket flap.