Rut. Vysokaya i uglovataya, ona derzhitsya nezametno - v otlichie ot horoshen'koy mladshey sestrenki Lyusil', hohotushki i modnicy. Rano osirotev, devochki zhivut v provincial'nom gorodishke gornogo shtata, i za nimi priglyadyvaet celaya chereda prestarelyh rodstvennic, poka v dome ne poyavlyaetsya vzbalmoshnaya i ekscentrichnaya Sil'vi, sestra ih pokoynoy materi. Sil'vi lyubit spat' na ulice, vstrechaet voskhod na lodke posredi ozera, provodit vechera v temnoy komnate, naslazhdayas' tishinoy, bescel'no brodit celymi dnyami po lesü Chto eto - pustoe, bessmyslennoe sushchestvovanie ili dostizhenie vysshey duhovnosti? Dve sestry po-raznomu ocenivayut strannye tetiny privychki: Lyusil' s trudom ih prinimaet, zato Rut obretaet v Sil'vi rodnuyu dushu.
Prozrachnaya, liricheskaya i meditativnaya proza Robinson, udostoennaya mnogih prestizhnyh literaturnyh nagrad, pogruzhaet chitatelya v son nayavu, otkryvayushchiy novye gorizonty i stepeni svobody.