In a small town near Tampa, seven-year-old Mary Adler shows remarkable mathematical talent on her first day of first grade, which impresses her teacher, Bonnie Stevenson. Mary is offered a scholarship to a private school for gifted children. However, her uncle and de facto guardian, Frank, turns it down. Based on his family's experiences with similar schools, he fears Mary will not have a chance at a "normal" childhood.
It emerges that Mary's mother, Diane, had been a promising mathematician, dedicated to the Navier