Some girls can't resist a mystery, so when thirteen-year-old Sara finds the key to a locked drawer in an antique desk, she has to open it. Sara never imagines turning the key will transport her back into the desk's past, when it belonged to young woman called Victoria. Victoria's equally surprised to have a smart- mouthed tomboy from the future materialize in her bedroom. The two very different girls develop a strong friendship as they attempt to get Sara back to her own time. Sara learns of Victoria's love for David, a love threatened by an overly protective and bitter mother. A secret guest in Victoria's house, Sara tries to bring her new friend and David together and solve a family mystery, but living in the past makes Sara progressively weaker. Unless the two girls can figure out the desk's powers soon, Sara may run out of time before she returns to the future.