Nine-year-old Josefina, the youngest of four sisters living in New Mexico in 1824, tries to help run the household after her mother dies.

Josefina and her sisters distrust learning to read and write, as well as other changes their Tía Dolores is bringing to the household, because they fear they will lose their memories of their mother.

When an archaeologist's priceless jewel goes missing during a 1906 ocean liner voyage to Europe, eleven-year-old Samantha tries to discover which of the first-class passengers is the thief. Includes French glossary and historical information on travel and archaeology in the early twentieth century.

While volunteering as a magazine delivery girl in a convalescent hospital during the Second World War, Molly uncovers a mystery involving the theft of rationed food supplies for sale on the black market.

In 1825 when Josefina trusts a trader in Santa Fe with an important deal, she makes a surprising discovery about this young American who leaves town without paying her.

When Tía Dolores, the beloved aunt who has cared for the Montoya family since the death of their mother, announces that she is planning to leave, Josefina and her sisters try to find a way to change her mind.

While staying with her Aunt Millie in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky in the summer of 1934, Kit tries to discover who is sabotaging a visiting folklore researcher.

In 1977 San Francisco, Julie wants to be just like her new friend Carla, until she discovers that Carla is either in big danger or telling big lies.

When her family moves to Philadelphia's Society Hill neighborhood in 1866, Addy discovers that her new home holds dangerous secrets--including one connected to the North Carolina plantation she had escaped from only two years earlier. Includes a brief overview of the experiences of African Americans during Reconstruction, the period immediately following the Civil War.

When the entire family goes into the hills to collect pinon nuts, Josefina hopes to find the most in order to make Tia Dolores proud of her.