Just before her mother is to remarry and her stepfamily is set to move in, twelve-year-old Zibby gradually realizes that her antique dollhouse is haunted by ghosts, one of whom is out for revenge.
Illustrations and simple text draw the reader into a family celebration at which a girl receives a dollhouse in which a birthday party is also going on.
When Zibby's mom marries Ned Shimizu, the evil doll in the dollhouse decides it is time to play a few tricks with a little help from Zibby's new stepsister, Laura-Jean, and her friend, Todd.
Forced to spend the summer with their hippie grandmother who runs a doll hospital, Lila and Rose learn a story from her about a young Russian girl who made the trip from her home country, alone with her doll, to Ellis Island.
When Fran and her brother and sisters reunite with their mother after living with foster families for two years, Fran has a difficult time adjusting to her new life.
Contains photographs and descriptions of Tasha Tudor's dollhouse collection, which is a one-quarter-scale version of the author's early-nineteenth-century-style Vermont home, Corgi Cottage.