Mac Delaney, a sixth grader in an unnamed small town in Pennsylvania, complains that the adults in his town are trying to make it seem like there are no problems by never talking about anything negative or distasteful. He says that Ms. Laura Samuel Sett, a teacher, writes letters to the newspaper to insist that the town has rules and expectations about going to church, saying the Pledge of Allegiance, banning junk food, and more. The rules dictate every detail of the townspeople’s lives, and the adults believe they ensure the safety of everyone, but Mac disagrees. His family are not strict rule followers, and he questions the authority of the rules that everyone follows in the town. He believes that the people in authority are oversimplifying people and things as just “bad” or “good.” Mac knows that a lot of people in town tell lies and have secrets because life is more complicated than the rules consider. Above all, Mac craves truth, even if it is uncomfortable or ugly.

Mac remembers the first time he encountered Ms. Sett. She was a chaperone on his field trip to Philadelphia, and Mac and his friend