Pearline, if you're reading this, the world's clock is ticking very fast, and time is running out. It's up to you and those like you to save our world! Twelve-and-a-half-year-old PJ Profitt's life is complicated enough. She faces ridicule from class bullies, is burdened with an obnoxious younger brother, and has a dad who's checked out of their relationship. Then a mysterious letter is placed in her hand, warning that time is running out for her world and telling her she's been chosen to save it. Friends disappear and her family is threatened as she faces a powerful force that manifests itself in darkness, the dark deeds of evil men, and creeping shadows. PJ is whisked away into a world where answers came in dreams and time travel, beloved animal friends fight by her side, and an eccentric neighbor and Peruvian shaman serve as her guides.