In the last volume of the Tillerman family saga, Dicey at age 24 struggles to get her boatbuilding business off the ground. Dicey knows boats but her näiveté and inexperience in self-employment lead her to failure after failure, nearly bringing her to the brink of disaster. Voigt's lyrical descriptions of Dicey's day-to-day work and her devotion to it serve as an interesting counterpoint to her message that success does not come easily and sometimes does not come at all. (Age 14 and older)

In the final book of the Tillerman saga, Dicey is robbed of her money and her trust by a drifter named, "Cisco". In her time of need, Dicey turns to her family and to Jeff Green to find the strength to turn this failure into triumph.