Giacomo's Letters is a coming of age tale of a young girl living on a farm in southern Minnesota whose life is turned upside down with the appearance of an uncle she didn't know she had. She discovers his imminent arrival in a letter he sent to her mother left for her to find. Compounding her concern for his arrival is the disclosure by her mother that the uncle is being released from prison in California and has no other place to go.

Young Brenda Johnson, soon to turn thirteen years of age at first wonders if the appearance of the uncle will bring interest to her boring life or change her life for the worse. The story chronicles Brenda's life to age twenty-four. For Brenda those years are filled with change that just keep coming.