Judith Spencer is a feisty fourteen-year-old girl. She is as tough and strong as any boy, and yet as pretty a girl you'd ever see. Her stepbrother has always thought of her as an annoying tag-along. But when his father comments on Judith's growing beauty, Doug begins to see her as a girl who needs protection. When Judith tags along on a mail delivery that Doug was appointed to do, he grudgingly welcomes her company. Unfortunately for them, after they've bedded down for the evening, they hear a shot in the night. They go out to investigate and discover the dead body of Oscar, their neighbor, with a bullet in his head. They must now try to discover who the actual murderer is before suspicions fall onto the siblings.
Honor Willsie Morrow was an avid researcher and expert in Abraham Lincoln. She is known for her great storytelling and for observational abilities that translate well into her writing.