The small piece of gold which Anisett carries in her pocket causes grave danger for her family living in the rough world of the California gold camps.

"Heart must hide her beloved unicorn, Moonsilver, from Lord Dunraven's hunters, so she and her animal friends join a troupe of traveling minstrels. Everyone thinks Moonsilver's horn is fake--just part of the act. Then Moonsilver heals a badly injured boy and the unicorn's secret is in danger. Can Heart's mysterious silver bracelet help her find the one place Moonsilver might be safe?"--p. [4] of cover.

Heart must find a safe haven for her beloved unicorns and decipher the symbols on a bundle of paper found in Dunraven's castle, which may unlock the secrets of the dreams that have been haunting her.

In 1932, when her father's foot injury makes it impossible for him to do farm work for a while, thirteen-year-old Agnes steps in, proving herself and revealing her understanding of him.

In the Colorado Territory in 1875, orphan Margret and her older sister Libby are staying with the kind-hearted Mrs. Fredrickson when Margret finds an injured horse which she nurses back to health and wants to keep, while Libby is too mistrustful of people to think that they might possibly have found a home.

In alternate chapters, Sadima travels from her farm home to the city and becomes assistant to a heartless man who is trying to restore knowledge of magic to the world, and a group of boys fights to survive in the academy that has resulted from his efforts.

When her wounded brother returns from battle, twelve-year-old Mary must get help for him without telling her father, a wealthy Tory, who has disowned his son for joining General Washington's Continental Army.

Twelve-year-old Sarah breaks the Sabbath in Puritan New England and faces a moral dilemma when an innocent person is accused in her place.

Emancipated by their owner's will, thirteen-year-old Evie and her father struggle to gain Mama's freedom and to make a home for themselves in the pre-Civil War South.

When two young strangers meet by chance on the day of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, they struggle to survive the terror of crumbling buildings, fire, looting, and chaos.