Things have changed for Samantha. She leaves quiet Mount Bedford for the bustle of New York City and the company of Aunt Cornelia's ten-year-old twin sisters, Agnes and Agatha. This pair is good at getting into mischief, and at bringing Samantha with them. When the three of them visit Grandmary's summer home, their adventure leads to danger on Goose Lake -- the same lake where Samantha's parents drowned! Then word comes that Samantha's neighbor Nellie...

Josefina discovers that she has a gift for healing when she tends an orphaned baby goat, finds the courage and creativity to mend her family's broken trust in an Americano trader, and seeks to keep her family whole and happy when Tía Dolores plans to leave.

"For Kit, the Depression has brought big changes: a houseful of boarders, tons of chores, and no birthday party. Then Aunt Millie arrives, and it looks as if her great ideas might turn things around for the Kittredges. But when Kit's taste for adventure gets her into trouble, she discovers that the Depression has hit a lot of people far worse than her own family. Can one girl make a difference for homeless kids--when even grownups have lost hope?"--...