Winner of four awards, the series continues with Bailey Fish, 11, and her grandmother, Sugar, living near an old house that is being fixed up as a country inn by the Keswick family. Before it is officially open, Keswick Inn's first guests arrive. They are children's author Elmo Phigg and his wife, Feather. Anong the Phiggs' possesssions is a mysterious green suitcase that contains Jamestown secrets. The Phiggs, who are evacuees from a hurricane, are looking for a place to stay while Elmo Phigg works on his book about Jamestown. Soon a young foster child named Sparrow arrives. Upset by the wheelchair and her move to a new foster home, Sparrow refuses to speak to anyone. Meanwhile, Bailey and her friends, Noah and Fred Keswick, try to find out what is inside the suitcase by devious means. They also plan a First Laught Party in the Navajo tradition, to make Sparrow laught or talk. Then a mysterious stranger shows up to claim the suitcase.