On Meg's seventeenth birthday, she learns that she only has one year left to live. Her mentor--the Eternal Witch, Faust--explains that she is cursed and the only way to save herself is to grow a seed of life using one thousand tears of joy. Of course, such tears aren't easy to come by. As Meg begins her quest, she finds herself drawn into the lives of her friends and neighbors in ways she never imagined. By sharing their burdens and using her magic to comfort them, she learns how precious those moments of connection can be even in the face of death.