Ten-year-old Lark loved all his birthday gifts but the special stone from his grandfather is his favorite. Hidden away in his pocket, it suddenly heats up, catapulting Lark into a magical land of a sunset, or sunrise, (he wasn't quite sure) and a stardust path leading to nowhere and everywhere.

Lonely little Lark soon meets a mimicking boy named Echo. Together they set off to see where the path will take them. As they travel, they encounter two more friends: a precocious little girl and a wise old talking loon. Hopping onto the loon's back, the children are taken through the sunset/sunrise until they find themselves stuck inside a weeping willow. The only way out is a rickety-looking ladder climbing out of the darkness to a destination unknown.

Lark and his friends climb, reaching one level only to find yet another. They are led on a fantastical journey, a magical world of exploration, a journey that may or may not finally bring Lark back home.

Lark's pathway, challenging his sense of the possible and the impossible, travels through life and death moments as he miraculously sees crucial family turning points through his mother's eyes.