The voice of time in 21 layers of mind. This is the story of a newly American girl, who finds her place in world culture, by way of travel and language. Pearl's story is a monologue of milestones evolving over twenty years, Playful, smart, and willful, she grows less revealing, but her grasp of language is ever stronger. Free to explore and challenge as she pleases, she creates her own world through the alphabet of art. Daily she tests herself and decides her life as she learns how to live.