Author Description

Although it's a strange development, almost thirteen year-old Kate Kaplan takes it in stride when an elegant brownstone in Chicago's Hyde Park is bequeathed to her and her mother by Kate's great-great-great uncle, August Kaplan. It's strange because August Kaplan (considered one of the great inventors of the twentieth century) has been deceased for seventy-five years, and because August was actually the ancestor of Kate's father, who left his wife and daughter for a girlfriend and loft apartment in the city. The house is fascinating, and Kate spends her days of summer vacation exploring it. She's thrilled when she stumbles onto a mystery within the house; a part of the basement is virtually hidden. That mystery leads to another and another. There's a trap door in the floor of the basement that leads to a tunnel that leads to the field in back of the brownstone - in the summer of 1888. Kate has some wonderful experiences, including meeting her triple-great Uncle, August Kaplan, but when she witnesses a young mill worker collapse from illness and fatigue, she and August will face their biggest dilemma. How do they accomplish the right thing without it having a negative impact on the future?