Spending the summer across the street from the famous Axe Murder House in Villisca, Iowa isn't something Chessie Carpenter is looking forward to. But when she runs into David Higgins at his father's hardware store there's something about the cute boy that feels so familiar. If only she could pinpoint why.

When the "ghost squad" she calls to help her deal with the spirits invading her room turns out to be David and his friend, Mateo, the three sort out the clues that would explain the century old murder mystery. But the closer Chessie gets to David, the more everything she learns points to him somehow being involved. As her time in Villisca runs out, Chessie must figure out the ties that connect her, David, and the spirits haunting the Axe Murder House before it's too late...for all of them.