Twelve-year-old Molly and her 10-year-old brother, Michael, are dismayed when their mom announces that they are leaving Baltimore and moving into a renovated church in rural Holwell, Maryland. Mom is excited because the move will give her a studio for her painting and space for her new husband, Dave, to do his pottery. Molly and Michael are upset because their summer plans—a creative writing workshop and science club, respectively—are now canceled. They try to avoid Heather, Dave’s pale-eyed, seven-year-old daughter, who delights in fomenting trouble.

Molly and Michael wish their mom had never married Dave. They understand that Heather lost her mother in a fire when she was three, but they think she should move past that loss or go to therapy—something Dave disapproves of. Heather makes Molly uneasy. Molly tries to act like a big sister, but Heather rebuffs her attempts, even gleefully ripping the heads off the paper dolls Molly made for her. Heather also lies about Michael and Molly to Dave, who believes Heather unequivocally. Mom usually takes Heather’s side as well. Molly feels lonely and unappreciated.