Arcadia Public Library

When her family temporarily moves into a luxury apartment building in 1904 Manhattan, eleven-year-old Samantha tries to discover whether a series of mishaps is related to a curse on the building's owner.

Marie-Grace Gardner, a doctor's daughter who has just returned to her native New Orleans in 1853, makes friends with C�ecile Rey, whose prosperous family are free people of color, and is persuaded to change places with her at separate Mardi Gras balls.

As the yellow fever epidemic continues to ravage New Orleans and the orphanages become more crowded, Marie-Grace and C�ecile help with the orphans, until Marie-Grace learns that her Uncle Luc's fianc�ee, Mademoiselle Oc�eane, has fallen ill.

In 1925, after witnessing the violent actions of some gangsters, twelve-year-old Emily accompanies her older sister on a trip to a luxurious hotel on the New Jersey shore but worries that the gangsters have come to the same hotel. Includes historical notes on the time period.

"Marie-Grace can't wait to begin her journey up the Mississippi River with her father. The steamboat they're traveling on is the biggest and fanciest boat Marie-Grace has ever seen. It's crowded with all sorts of interesting passengers, including Wilhelmina Newman, a girl her age. Wilhelmina is traveling alone, and she's carrying a secret in one of her trunks--clues to hidden Gold Rush treasure. Marie-Grace and Wilhelmina have to unravel the clues...