"Without knowing or caring where I'd wind up, I sneaked out of the house and took off running." Wendy Robichaud is on schedule to have everything she wants in high school: two loyal best friends, a complete and happy family, and a hunky boyfriend she's had a crush on since eighth grade-until she and Mrs. Villaturo look at old photo albums together. That's when Mrs. V sees her dead husband and hints at a scandal down in Cajun country. Faster than you can say "crawdad," Wendy digs into the scandal. She risks losing boyfriend David by befriending Mrs. V's cute grandson, alienates stepsister Alice by having a boyfriend in the first place, and upsets her friend Gayle without knowing why. Will Wendy be able to prevent Mrs. V from being taken thousands of miles away from her? And will she lose all the friends she's fought so hard to get?