In the backdrop of soaring teen suicides 12 year-old Starr is bullied, though her greatest concerns are Dad's disappearance and the mobster living next door. Starr takes up search for her father while a beagle sidekick gathers criminal evidence for investigation at headquarters, an abandoned boat dubbed Blue Lady. Deadly forces of nature conspire to bring more drama. In desperation, Starr latches onto Miz Alma, a Gullah basket weaver sitting among Mall Street's ghostly, mossed-draped oaks. The adventurous waif could be dead by daybreak, for a one-eyed stalker, the mob and a kidnapper make bullies seem kitten-friendly in comparison.