Brooks Martin and his eccentric Aunt Mandy are always looking for a different adventure. They shiver among giant ice sculptures, sweat through a nerve wracking movie audition, and scream on the Smoky Mountain Rampage. Their second place win at the Tennessee State Fair Sweet Treat Team Championship nets them a hundred dollars and a spot on a local television show.
But they never guess that their greatest adventure will involve murder. As rifles crackle during a reenactment at their favorite Civil War historic sight, a bloody stranger shakily grabs Brooks, thrusts a scrap of paper at him, gasps a few words...and dies!
"Just a kid and an old lady," they decide to try to solve the Murder at the Oaklands Mansion by using their research skills, knowledge of history, and bending the truth just a little. Their journey takes them from a stack of dusty old books and an antique dresser, to a wild car chase and a brush with death for Brooks.
Along the way, they find danger and excitement as they search for answers to the questions: "Who was that stranger? Why did he grab Brooks? Why was he murdered and...who did it?"