In June 1907, twelve-year-old Samantha looks forward to a happy summer with Nellie and her younger sisters at Grandmary's country home in the Adirondacks but a series of mysterious accidents on the property lead Samantha to suspect that someone is deliberately causing trouble.
Shortly before the Revolutionary War, nine-year-old Felicity, who lives in Williamsburg, is torn between supporting the tariff-induced tea boycott and saving her friendship with Elizabeth, a young loyalist from England.