Why would anyone want to leave the city for a tiny rural town? 13 year old Julie can barely believe her misfortune. Gone will be the benefits of modern 1973 America and in exchange they will be forced to live in a one room, dirt-floored shack with no electricity, no running water, and an outhouse. Julie is certain that this is what she faces. Never mind that her mother laughs while telling Julie that her doom and gloom mental images just aren't so. Julie knows that her life is over. What will Julie and her annoyingly optimistic sister Jessie find when they arrive in Haculanee? Will there be adventures to experience and mysteries to solve, or will Julie's worst fears be proven right?