When seventeen-year-old Rosie's mother dies from Huntington's Disease, a devastating secret is revealed that sends Rosie on a journey from England to the United States with her ex-boyfriend, where she discovers yet more deeply-buried and troubling secrets and lies.
Emma's senator-father is running for president, and when her rebellious style and indifference to rules and convention create problems, she relies on her good friends, who are also the daughters of well-known people, to help her gain perspective.
Because he spends most of his time eating and sleeping, Sausage is considered to be a silly dog, but Emma and Gran believe he will prove himself, and one night he gets his chance.
Living in Indiana during World War I, ten-year-old Mallie longs to be seen as different from her identical twin and finds an example of individuality in the gypsies who moved into her community.
On "Hatday, " Ivan expects his father the hatmaker to present him with a hat that matches his character and talents, but he becomes confused when the other villagers also give him headgear more appropriate to their own interests.