EXPOSITION

CONFLICT

RISING ACTION

CLIMAX

FALLING ACTION

RESOLUTION

Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker arrives in Manifest, Kansas to stay with Pastor Shady while her father, Gideon, goes off to work on the railroad.

The people of Manifest seem to carry secrets with them and won’t tell her much about her father’s past in Manifest. They seem to hint that her father might not be coming back for her.

As Abilene gets to know the people of Manifest, she finds more questions than answers. With her new friends Lettie and Ruthanne, she attempts to solve the mystery of the Rattler, a box of trinkets, and her father's disappearance. Miss Sadie, a strange Hungarian woman, tells her about two boys, Jinx and Ned, who lived in Manifest in 1917. As Abilene learns more of their story, she becomes caught up in the past, convinced that it will help her understand her present.

Miss Sadie's story ends when she reveals that Ned died fighting in WWI, causing a broken-hearted Jinx to run away from Manifest. All the hopes and dreams of the Manifest residents came crashing down with the death toll of the war and the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918.

Abilene's sleuthing causes the people of Manifest to open up about the past, bringing them healing. As they talk, the last of the book’s mysteries unravel. Abilene realizes that Miss Sadie is Ned's mother. She also learns that Jinx is her father and his fear of jinxing her, like he jinxed Ned, has caused him to leave. Abilene sends him a telegram saying that she is dying to lure him back.

Gideon returns to Manifest, and he and Abilene begin to put down roots. The townspeople come together again and decide to revive old friendships and traditions. Abilene, Gideon, and their neighbors hope to learn from the past and work toward a bright future.