Her grandfather's dying words lead thirteen-year-old Theodora Tenpenny to a valuable, hidden painting she fears may be stolen, but it is her search for answers in her Greenwich Village neighborhood that brings a real treasure.
After a series of disappointing setbacks, Suzy decides to live for one summer as Emily Dickinson by practicing solitude. But although she gains some helpful insights, she ultimately realizes that life as a recluse is not for her.
"Desperate to keep her older brother from being drafted in the Vietnam War, eleven-year-old Reenie strikes up an unlikely friendship with Mr. Marsworth, an elderly shut-in, who helps her in her mission"--Provided by publisher.