The Alden children travel on a Mississippi paddle-wheel steamer to visit an old family friend in his cabin near Hannibal, Missouri, and try to discover who is responsible for the mysterious activities near the house.

Discovering her ability to see ghosts when a cruel act ends her father's life and forces her to move in with relatives in 1920s Pittsburgh, young Ophelia forges a helpful bond with a spirit whose own life ended suddenly and unjustly.

"They say Dorthea's family is cursed. The house built by Great-Great-Grandfather on the Southside Road has never been at peace. Old people say it lies on a fairy path -- a gateway to the world of the Little Strangers. All Newfoundland is enthralled when Marconi arrives with a wireless telegraphy team. Dor takes on a new identity as newspaper errand boy Jack, and joins the famous experimenter on Signal Hill. Becoming Jack is a profound personal awakening....

In this memoir, the author "takes readers back to a time when small-town America was caught in the amber of the innocent post-war period--people helped their neighbors, went to church on Sunday, and kept barnyard animals in their backyards."--Jacket.