Ondu-ahlem carefully trains his pigeons and prepares them for the day when he and other Ethiopian boys test the homing instinct and loyalty of their precious birds.
In 1918, caring for her family's homing pigeons while her father is away fighting in World War I, twelve-year-old Pam comes to suspect that a mysterious stranger in her small North Carolina town is a German spy.
A hermit lives on an island where he has peace and quiet, until a small bird comes to share the island with him, but when the bird leaves, the hermit realizes that his island was much better with the bird than without it.
When several homing pigeons need a new home, a group of boys and girls adopt them and start the "Mighty Pigeon Club, " only to find that they have taken on more than they bargained for.
After seeing a girl raped and becoming obsessed with her, sixteen-year-old Thulani finds motivation to move beyond his interest in his birds and his grief over his mother's death.