Grayton, a small fictional town community in western Tennessee, in 1964, is unaware of the civil rights movement taking place across the nation. It all begins with the Scholl family, as the oldest girl, Rosie, sets up a summer school and invites others to join. There are eight students all told, including two African Americans, which prove highly unpopular with the ice cream man, racist, and KKK wannabee, Joe Puckett. While the children gather during the summer vacation, events unfold around them, including a biracial relationship, a kidnapping, the death of a loved one, and the murder of a domestic abuser.

Situated in a time shortly after the JFK assassination, the residents of this community--with all their secrets and mysteries to hide--come alive and reveal themselves when the Ghost Comes Out is played. The town is left questioning who in their close-knit community could the "ghost" be as neighbors lock their never-latched doors and question each other with distrust and fear. After the summer of '64, no citizen in that town is ever quite the same.

This is a moral tale in its way in which the good get their reward and the bad their punishment, but it also recognizes that good people can get caught in the cross fire and that no one is perfect.