There's trouble between Imani's mom and dad, so her mother is taking her and her brother to stay awhile at Auntie Dot's house in Los Angeles. Imani is resentful -- she plans to call her father and ask him to come get her right after they arrive. But as they drive, her mom tells Imani many stories about how she stayed with Auntie Dot in the early sixties while her parents temporarily separated. Imani's mom -- Junie -- had a knack for getting into trouble during her difficult adjustment to life without her mother, but the understanding of Auntie Dot always helped to keep her headed in the right direction. By means of this series of flashbacks, Imani realizes there are lar ger things at work in her parents' lives than she is prepared to understand, and for the first time sees her mother as not just a mom but a person as well.