Meredith May was five years old when her parents divorced and she suddenly found herself in the care of her grandfather, an eccentric beekeeper who made honey in a rusty old military bus in the yard. She was drawn to the art of beekeeping as an escape from her troubled reality. Her mother had receded into a volatile cycle of madness and despair and spent most days locked away in the bedroom. The bees became a guiding force in May’s life, teaching her about family and community, loyalty and survival.