In 1849, Zeb's parents ship him off to St. Louis to become an apprentice tanner, but the naive twelve-year-old rebels, casts his lot with a cheating riverboat gambler, while a slave and an Indian medicine man try to get Zeb back on the right path.

"Scholastica, or Tick, has grown up helping her father make candles in his shop. The experience has its ups and downs--while constantly smelling like tallow makes it hard for Tick to keep friends, stray cats love her. Still, she delights in the work and the fact that she can help Papa. Because she's a girl, Tick can never be a true apprentice in the trade, but since she gets to do the job anyway, what does it matter what she's called? Then one morning...