On a frigid January night in 1937, a fierce windstorm arrives in an already ravaged western Kansas, bringing with it the most tragic of Deborah Nelson's experiences with the Depression and Dust Bowl on her western Kansas farm.

Deborah has already seen more than her share of hardship in the years since her husband, Christian, disappeared and left her a single mother in charge of their farm. For six years, Deborah and her neighbors, Victor Whitesong and the Goodmans, have valiantly battled relentless windstorms with limited success.

Now, as a new year of drought and dust begins, Deborah rides out to check her fences and finds a neighbor's child dead in a drift of dirt. Sadly, it is only the beginning of more challenges. Measles hits the community's children, including Deborah's son. Desperate for help, Deborah must send her remaining children away. Emotional and health problems worsen in the community. In the meantime, she must deal with Sheriff Stoddel, who hates her because he believes she is Indian. He is convinced she and Victor have killed Christian. The only saving grace is her loving relationship with Victor, as she hopes for rain and prays that a world war is not imminent.

Sky Bird continues the saga of one woman's struggle to endure adversity and find joy in the uncertainty pervading America in the late 1930s.