Safekeeping

Radley is volunteering at an orphange in Haiti when the news reaches her that the United States is in grave danger-- the American People's Party has come to power and the country is in chaos. Radley insists on flying home, but when her plane lands in New Hampshire, her parents aren't there. With only fifty cents in her pocket, she starts walking to her home in Vermont, but her parents aren't there. The police come frequently to her door, and she is afraid they are there to arrest her. She eventually decides to walk to Canada, where things are calmer, and along the way meets an ill and uncommunicative girl, Celia, and her dog. The two eventually settle in an abandoned school house, where they scavenge for food in a landscape oddly barren of people. They are left food, clothing and supplies in a nearby barn, and manage to survive. Celia has been abused and is pregnant, so she likes her life in Canada. Radley, however, decides to go back home, where she does find information about her parents and has to decide how to continue on with her life once the political situation settles down.