Hollywood, 1938: As soon as she learns that MGM is adapting her late husband's masterpiece The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for the screen, 77-year-old Maud Gage Baum knows that she is the only person who can help the producers stay true to the spirit of the book—because she's the only one left who knows its secrets. When Maud hears Judy Garland rehearsing "Over the Rainbow," she recognizes the yearning that defined her own life story, from her youth as a suffragette's daughter to the hardscrabble prairie years that inspired Frank's novel. Drawing on true events, the author of The Perfect Horse chronicles Maud's attempt to protect this sensitive young actress, the way she tried so hard to protect the real Dorothy.