Welcome to Arlington, Vermont - a small town with a famous history, a lot of stories to tell, and a bit of a problem. The idyllic Lye Brook Wilderness Area and its small rookery of great grey herons are under threat from development, which Dr. Abby Phillips' group actively opposes. While the developers and the townspeople are at loggerheads, voices from beneath the earth start to speak. Only one person hears them, but even he doesn't know what they are at first, or what they're saying. Will he understand in time to make a difference? A Proud Little Town, the first in the occasional Arlington Town series, introduces the reader to the unique history and landscape of Vermont and its people through the characters of Abby, Will Putnam of the Putnam Academy, resident shaman Bud Belanger, the widow Elnora Rushlow, recent transplant Flora MacDonald, and all the good folks who gather at Gina Frost's diner on behalf of their beloved little town and the herons.