Twelve-year-old Claire Hamilton has just moved to Saudi Arabia for her dad's job and she's afraid-of desert dogs that roam in packs outside her compound, of being labeled Loser at school, of losing the hard-earned love of her parents. The desert intrigues yet frightens Claire. It's where she finds a magical snake-sent to help her, if Claire's eccentric neighbor can be believed. The desert will also sift Claire until only her truest self remains. Claire's convinced nobody could love that, so she decides to avoid the desert.

But the desert's everywhere, and the sifting has begun. If it exposes the real her, Claire's new friends-Olivia, who's famous for being nice, and Luke, who works at being invisible-will dump her for sure. As strange and unexplainable events begin happening to Claire and her friends, her fears mount. Will she lose Olivia and Luke, disappoint her parents, and have her life ruined by the desert-or whatever is behind all this? Or is Claire about to discover a love beyond her imagination that will help her embrace who she is, who she's meant to be?