Zoe is an eleven year old girl who trusts nobody. Her mother died, and she has to move to Sugar Hil, California and ends up living with her uncle, Henry Royster. She is forced to go to school and ends up being stalked by the mayor's son, Hargrove Peters. Zoe befriends Fred, Henry's assisstant, and they both bond with the cat in Henry's yard. She lives life comfortably with her Uncle, but she learns a secret. A secret she never knew existed.