At college in New York City, Janie Johnson, aka Jennie Spring, seems to have successfully left behind her past as "The face on the milk carton," but soon she, her families, and friends are pursued by a true-crime writer who wants their help in telling her kidnapper's tale.

Sent by her parents to find food, Mahalia Mouse finds herself trapped in a backpack and transported to a physics classroom at Harvard University, where she discovers an aptitude for science.

Relates, in two voices, the experiences of Luke and Phoebe, who attended the same high school and are now experiencing the joys and angst of life as college freshmen in York, England.