Based on a true story and told in free verse, the novel follows a sea otter named Odder who was raised by scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium after being separated from her mother as a pup. She now spends her days off the coast of central California, frolicking and swimming with her friends. But when she comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, Odder finds herself back with the people who raised her. It soon becomes clear that her injuries will keep Odder from returning to the wild, but she finds a new role as an adoptive mother to an orphaned pup.