In St. Louis, Missouri, in 1911, orphaned eleven-year-old Julia Delaney rails against countless disappointments and the nun's strict rules at the House of Mercy, especially after her sister Mary turns fourteen and must leave, but she, her family, and best friend get tangled up with a gangster and a decade-old mystery.

In 1911 St. Louis, eleven-year-old orphan Julia Delaney rails against the nun's strict rules at the House of Mercy, but life becomes more exciting when she and her best friend get tangled up with a gangster and a decade-old mystery.