It's January 1881, and while the grown-ups in Annie and Nate Dawson's San Francisco O'Farrell Street boardinghouse are busy with their own affairs, two boys and a dog find their own adventure. Ian Hennessey, a poor boy from South of Market, who is trying to shoulder a man's responsibilities, gets in trouble, and his best friend, Jamie Hewitt, does what he can to help. But it is Jamie's young Boston Terrier, Dandy, who saves the day.

This short novella comes right after the events in Pilfered Promises and Kathleen Catches a Killer, however, as a stand alone, it can act as an introduction to the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series by USA Today bestselling author, M. Louisa Locke.