As mayor of Kidsboro, Ryan Cummings faces losing his office, a war against Max Darby's Bettertown, an economic crisis, the threat that a dangerous secret will be revealed, and citizens' concerns about taxes and the services they provide.

"It's one challenge after another for 10-year-old John Avery Whittaker! He tinkers with electronics, takes on the lead in the school Christmas play, and comes up against a new bully, all while continuing to investigate the mysterious properties of the cloth from his grandfather's trunk - if he can find it! It's missing! Meanwhile, strangers have come to Provenance and they're askings lots of suspicious questions about the Confederate gold Johnny and...