Thirteen-year-old Joey Willis has been deaf since age six, but her mother has refused to let her learn sign language, leaving Joey struggling to connect with those around her until she meets Dr. Charles Mansell and his baby chimpanzee, who secretly teach Joey how to sign.

It is 1805 and Mary Lambert has always felt safe among the deaf community of Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard where practically everyone communicates in a shared sign language, but recent events have shattered her life; her brother George has died, land disputes between English settlers and the Wampanoag people are becoming increasingly bitter, and a "scientist" determined to discover the origins of the islands' widespread deafness has decided she makes...

"As a young teacher on Martha's Vineyard, Mary Lambert feels restless and adrift. So when a league of missionaries invite her to travel abroad, she knows it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Paris is home to a pioneering deaf school where she could meet its visionary instructors Jean Massieu and Laurent Clerc--and bring back their methods to America! But the endeavor comes at a cost: The missionaries' plan to "save" deaf children is questionable...