Amelia is a nine-year-old who has recently been diagnosed with diabetes. She lives with her parents, younger siblings and Granny. She often gets frustrated with how her diabetes affects her life. She complains about how unfair it is for her to have this disease; how she can hardly have any sugar when her brother can have doughnuts whenever he wants. One day, as she perches in her favorite spot in a tree, secretly listening as her Granny tells a strange story about three buckets, Amelia accidently falls and breaks her arm.

As she lies unconscious, Amelia has a strange meeting with three Sages, who have her drink a cup of an Essence each from three buckets; Wait, With, and Wonderful. She converses with each Sage, learning the meaning behind each Essence and how, if she works on her 'state of mind', her With can become a simple matter of a Wait and she can live a happier life in her Wonderfuls.