Fifteen-year-old Lee Nakhampa and her mother live in the small village of Bor Sang, in Thailand. They are poor, though they earn a living by making and painting the lovely handmade paper and linen parasols that attract many tourists to the village. Lee has decided that, as a special gift for her cousin, who is a Buddhist monk, she will make a beautiful original parasol. She will present it to him on the one festival day of the year when monks are permitted to receive personal gifts.