Bobby Garfield befriends an elderly gentleman, Ted Brautigan, who moves into the boarding house where he and his mother have lived since his father's death. During the summer that follows, his friendship with Ted grows as he spends time reading the newspaper to him and is hired to be on the lookout for any signs for lost animals or strange cars that may be in the neighborhood. Although he and his best friends, Carol Gerber and John "Sully" Sullivan begin to see these strange signs, Bobby neglects to tell Ted with dire consequences.
