When an eleven-year-old African American girl named Callie sets out to find the owner of an old yellow dog, she crosses paths with a white boy her age named Wendell. Their segregated town isn't happy when the two become friends. Meanwhile, two boys who are ghosts are stuck in a cabin by a river, unable to cross to the other side. Callie and Wendell's quest brings them to the cabin in the woods--and to the boys--just as flames of prejudice, anger, and hate ignite the town.