The lives of four best friends are changed by some unexpected magic the summer before they start high school.

It's the last summer before Cass, Jemmie, Ben, and Justin hit high school. Friends for years, they all know that everything will be different for them once school starts, and each of them have different feelings about the future. Then Ben's kid brother Cody discovers an old fedora—left behind by a mysterious missing uncle—at the back of a closet. When Cody puts the hat on, it becomes "magic" to him.

Ben and his friends are too old to believe in mystical hats—until the magic begins to work and Cody leads the gang to an abandoned building in the woods. Little do they suspect that this old property with a tragic past might just change them all forever. Can a little hat magic, the discovery of a secret summer hideout, and an encounter with real danger help them all deal with what may be their "last summer" together?

Award-winning author Adrian Fogelin once again offers readers an emotionally charged and suspenseful story, featuring a sympathetic group of adolescents trying to make sense of the mysterious world around them.