Hazel Whitmore grew up in New York City. Then her life fell apart and she ended up nine miles from the rural town of Crooked Creek, Missouri. No phone. No Internet. No Central Park. No friends.
Hazel's New York apartment was neat and clean. The hundred-year-old house is full of dust and cobwebs.
At Kingston Middle School in New York, Hazel was popular. At Hanging Rock School, Hazel is shunned, the target of pranks and bullying.
Hazel's Grandfather Whitmore doesn't want her or her mother there in Crooked Creek. He has roused the family to drive them away. They have no where to go and must face whatever happens. Then Grandfather Whitmore goes further unleashing tragedy on the family.