In the fall of 1950 when Carley is 12, three natives return to Job's Corner after long absences. Clay Lamont, fresh from the Air Force, breaks Carley's heart in her first crush. Maddie Raeburn, beautiful enough to be a movie star, causes quite a stir when she announces she is now divorced and plans to teach seventh grade. And Jerry Donaldson returns to become the school principal, igniting an old grudge in Maddie Raeburn.

Meanwhile, Carley stumbles her way into one secret after another and even comes across an old skull. She begins to wonder what other secrets are hiding in Job's Corner. Will her friends ever find true love? And will she ever come to understand the secretive and often conflicting world of grownups?