The quiet, cozy town of Red Oak Village is home to many critters; full of nests, dens, burrows, and caves. And now one more resident has joined the neighborhood: Tallula Potts, schoolteacher, who was hired after the mysterious disappearance of the beloved former teacher, Lois Lehrer. With the help of her precocious students and new neighbor Franklyn Frankle, Tallula tries to discover what happened to Lois before the coming snow covers all the tracks at Autumn’s end.