Despite the misgivings of her best friend, Joe, nine-year-old Mandie Shaw of the small town of Charley Gap, North Carolina, investigates strange sounds and shadows coming from the woods, and along the way makes a new acquaintance.
Mandie and Celia search for a thief after Mandie's gorgeous graduation dress is stolen, and the friends must face the prospect of going to different schools when Celia's college application gets lost in the mail.
