While others at St. Bridget's Home for Abandoned Girls dream of adoption, Rose wants only a job and independence until she is hired as maid to Mr. Fountain, an alchemist, and realizes that she, like his grand residence, is filled with magic.

Newspaper copyboy Victor Vollmer sets out from Memphis to spread the ashes of Mr. Spiro, his friend and mentor, at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and with the help of new friend Philomene he may meet the challenge.

In Boston in 1775, orphaned fourteen-year-old Hannah is indentured to the family of a British general and begins attending secret meetings disguised as a boy, then passing messages and warnings to the revolutionaries using her beloved horse Promise. Includes historical notes.