Twelve-year-old Betsy waves a tearful goodbye to her family as the wagon takes her away from her Massachusetts farm. The money she will earn as Nyes' hired girl should help pay her family's passage to the Ohio frontier next year. But when she arrives in Marietta, all her plans fall apart. First her job and expected wages are at risk, and then her carefully collected savings goes missing. There are dangerous thieves on the loose in Marietta, but Betsy knows her Good Shepherd is watching over her. So why does she have those shivers of fear?