When a winter flood submerges the streets of Fresno, the town has no choice but to close the school for repairs. Andi couldn't be happier. She plans to spend her unexpected holiday out on the range with her palomino mare, Taffy. But Andi's dreams are dashed when she's sent to San Francisco--doomed to spend the rest of the winter at Miss Whitaker's Academy for Young Ladies.

Andi doesn't know how she'll endure two months of city life until she's introduced to her new roommate, the untamable Jenny. She also meets Lin Mei, a mistreated servant girl who works at the school. When Andi and Jenny discover a dreadful secret that endangers Lin Mei, they rush to her rescue, only to find themselves trapped in the dark alleys of Chinatown. Can the girls outwit their captors and escape a horrible fate?