Life for Josh isn't the easiest. He moved into a new school, attracted the wrath of Brenda, an opinionated and quite capable classmate who believes John is making up wild stories and passing them off as true, and has conversations with the corn. A school fieldtrip to a local retirement home unearths a bit of the town's unspoken oral history. It seems Alice and Henry, two teenagers who lived in Wagston long before Josh, had run away causing embarrassment to their families. Josh is taken into the confidence of the corn leading him to a meeting with a long-dead Alice. Josh is quickly plunged into danger, intrigue, and adventure as his relationship with his classmates deepens into friendship and respect.