Eighth-graders Massie, Alicia, Dylan, Kristen, and Claire, all members of the New Pretty Committee at Octavian Country Day School, agree to snub the Briarwood boys who are due to invade the previously all-girls domain, but find it difficult to obey their own decree.

Sixteen-year-old Celestia is a wealthy member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, where she meets and falls in love with Peter, a hired hand who lives in the valley below, and by the time of the torrential rains that lead to the disastrous Johnstown flood of 1889, she has been disowned by her family and is staying with him in Johnstown. Includes an author's note and historical timeline.