The Great Depression hits home for nine-year-old Kit Kittredge when her dad loses his business and leaves to find work. In order to keep their home, Kit and her mother must take in boarders paying houseguests who turn out to be full of fascinating stories. When mothers lockbox containing all their money is stolen, Kits new hobo friend Will is the prime suspect. Kit refuses to believe that Will would steal, and her efforts to sniff out the real news get her and her friends into big trouble. The police say the robbery was an inside job, committed by someone they knew. So if it wasn't Will, then who did it?