During summer vacation, Bailey Fish and her friends, adopted brothers Noah and Fred Keswick, and their foster sister, Sparrow, convert an abandoned chicken coop into a theater and write a play about historical ghosts and space travelers. Then new guests, Li'l Bonbon and Bean, arrive at Keswick Inn. The children's plans are thwarted when the mean and bossy Li'l Bonbon takes over their show. The boys' mother warns the kids to be polite to guests, no matter what Emotions rise as the kids rehearse Li'l Bonbon's play about the Civil War in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and worry about a missing dog. Bailey makes a dramatic rescue, and learns another valuable lesson about dealing with bullies, even if they are adults.