Fourteen year old Rose has been born into a crazy family. Her Dad drops a barrel of fried chicken onto the plywood kitchen table on his way to the TV after work Monday through Friday, then drinks for most of the weekend as a reward for his labor. Her Mom drinks as well and pill pops as a way to cope with five children and an unhealed heart. She offers Rose little in the way of motherly guidance and what she does offer is rarely useful. Rose's four brothers are whirlwinds of tumult and angst. But an impromptu and nearly disastrous road trip provides Rose with a dream of becoming a mermaid like her aunt who works at a Florida tourist attraction. She believes this might offer her a way to rise above the small world of chaos and working-class poverty. Her wits and her yearning to overcome her lot in life propel her to keep trying to better her situation, no matter how many obstacles she must overcome. Along the way, Rose discovers that she might have to swim through the mud before she can finally enter the clear waters of her dreams.