The start of a new school year for Lizzy, TC and the Brain quickly turns from hopes of new friendships to fears of being bullied.

Three redheaded friends: Lizzy the risk-taker and a tomboy, TC a kid with ADHD who struggles in the classroom, but who lives for baseball and their friend the Brain, the quiet whiz kid who can fix almost anything electronic and loves to investigate everything, have grown up together since Lizzy dug a hole and crawled into the brain’s backyard at the age of three, are about to start a new school year attending the same school for the first time in three years

The brain just wanted to be editor of the school newspaper. TC just wanted his teachers to like him enough to give him good grades so his Dad will let him play baseball next summer. All Lizzy wanted was to make new friends at Lyons North Middle school. But before the last bell rang on the first day of school, the trio were being bullied for being redheads and for their Christian faith.

The bullying seemed to increase every hour of the school day and with each encounter with a bully, the bullying became worse and more dangerous.

After Lizzy was stuffed inside her locker, the trio are forced to take matters into their own hands and take on the bullies.

A clue left behind in Lizzy’s locker leads to the trio to discover that their bullying problem was about more than their Christian faith or their freckles and red hair, and that someone else may be involved.

When they solve the mystery, they take the bully’s own words and use them to strengthen their friendship and their own self-confidence.