"Marie-Grace can't wait to begin her journey up the Mississippi River with her father. The steamboat they're traveling on is the biggest and fanciest boat Marie-Grace has ever seen. It's crowded with all sorts of interesting passengers, including Wilhelmina Newman, a girl her age. Wilhelmina is traveling alone, and she's carrying a secret in one of her trunks--clues to hidden Gold Rush treasure."--Provided by publisher.

Volunteering with her friend Cecile at a crowded New Orleans orphanage during the yellow fever epidemic of 1853, Marie-Grace discovers that it is not just the orphans who need help.