Think outside of the box- that's what Annie Dawson must do when she discovers a mysterious birchbark box in the attic of Grey Gables, the home bequeathed to her by her grandmother, Betsy Holden. The old box, exquisitely carved by an American Indian artist, contains a beaded ceremonial regalia collar and an obscure verse: "Sister Otter, water dancing Sun splashes over circles you draw. If love took you to desert dry, Where would you dance?" Annie knows of no American Indian connection to her family in the region around Stony Point, the quaint New England fishing village on Maine's rugged coastline where the mystery unfolds. But this very personal glimpse into Passamaquoddy life is somehow threaded through Annie's family history. She is driven to find the connection.