Book excerpt: "Elizabeth Harley jumped down from her bicycle and dropped it noisily against the steps of the Sherwood back porch. "Nan, oh, Nan!" she called. There was no answer. She ran up the steps and into the cottage, letting the screen door bang behind her. A friend since primary school days of Nan Sherwood, she was like one of the family and always ran into the Sherwood home on Amity Street without the formality of ringing the doorbell or pausing to knock."