While staying with his grandmother and his uncle in the hills of Perry County, Arkansas, fourteen-year-old Sammy Wallace hears strange noises in the valley behind the house. His grandmother and uncle tell him a curious legend that exists in the area. While investigating, Sammy discovers an odd boy called Weasel, who lives up on Knob Mountain. When Weasel's family is accused of stealing a horse, Sammy risks his own life to help prove their innocence.

In this spooky tale of ghosts and hill folks, Sammy learns that things are not always as they seem, and help can come from unlikely places.