Set in Napa, California, in the 1940's, The Something in the Attic introduces Kiki Moore, a girl whose family seeks refuge on a run-down prune ranch while the father, an Army officer, prepares to go off to war. When Kiki's mother, Emily Moore, becomes the target of dangerous, unexplainable accidents, the girl discovers a ghostly presence and is drawn into solving an old mystery. This story weaves the complex dynamics of military families, rural California life, and father/daughter tensions into an absorbing paranormal coming-of-age tale.