It's the summer of '63, and eight-year-old Mercy Walker struggles with a disturbing truth--her best friend, Laura, is living a terrible secret. . . Mercy's goal is to help rescue her friend. But then her parents announce they are moving in with her ailing grandparents, and Mercy will be sent to live with three elderly aunts. Now all hope for Laura is lost. After arriving at the Aunts' house, Mercy discovers a world of oddball characters. Two of the aunts behave like adolescent schoolgirls, competing to be the favorite. A misfit neighborhood boy latches on to Mercy's brother, like an infatuated groupie. An unstable veteran scouts the neighborhood as if he's still at war. And the cook's cunning granddaughter introduces Mercy and her sister to the art of being shrewd . With the help of the peculiar veteran, the young kids unravel a forty-five-year-old rumor that rattles a community full of zany characters. And Mercy, determined to help her friend Laura, finally takes action.