Kidnapped by the crew of an Africa-bound ship, a thirteen-year-old boy discovers to his horror that he is on a slaver and his job is to play music for the exercise periods of the human cargo.
Ten-year-old James skips school to go to his secret place, a deserted house, where he is found by three teenage boys who force him to join their dognapping ring.
Twelve-year-old Elizabeth resents being sent to stay on a small Maine island after the arrival of her new baby brother, but the time she spends with her artist grandmother and an unusual young neighbor help her to see things differently.
Only his strange great-aunt seems to understand the thoughts of a boy who has spent his life concealing his emotions, on an eerie, snowy night after rescuing a dog that dislikes him.
