There isn't much drama in Olive Town. The highlights of Cissy Sissney's days are the letters from her old schoolteacher, Miss Loucien, describing her adventures on board an old showboat with the Bright Lights Theatre Company.

If only life were full of such adventure for Cissy, too.

But then diphtheria breaks out in Olive Town, a silo crushes Cissy's home, and Miss May March agrees to take Cissy and classmates, Kookie and Tibbie, to stay with Miss Loucien until Olive town is safe again. The ramshackle crew on board the Sunshine Queen sail along the shoals and shimmer of the Numchuck River, performing plays for the towns scattered along the shore.

But sometimes, on the treacherous Missouri River, danger levels rise too high even for the resourceful Bright Lights.

Then only the bravest, and grandest, in the land can hope to keep the final curtain from falling. The award-winning author, Geraldine McCaughrean, captures the spirit of adventure and the power of imagination in this rip-roaring read.