When young Gus LeGarde befriends a cranky old hermit in the woods who speaks to an Oneida Indian spirit named Penaki, he wonders if the man is nuts. But when Penni rattles tin cups, draws on dusty mirrors, and flips book pages, pestering them to find evidence to avenge her past and free her from earthly bondage, things change.
What Gus doesn't understand is why his mother hates Tully. His relentless digging reveals a hint of scandal about Tully and Gus' maternal grandfather, Marlowe Wright. Can his natural compassion help him accept the not-so-normal facts about Tully and Marlowe?
On horseback, Gus and his friends ride through woods overlooking Conesus Lake,following Penni's trail to an abandoned house reportedly infected with the deadly Genesee Valley Fever from the 1700s. Unafraid, they enter and make an astounding find that could rewrite history.
Gus summons courage beyond his years in this poignant and powerful telling of the sultry summer of 1965.
