"You get to choose. Either you poke a hold in the nest with your finger and get stung all over, or else you run away as fast as you can." -From the book 14-year-old Susanna lives in a village where old grudges and long-standing resentments are stifling, making even the neighbor's barking dogs a major crisis. Susanna is stuck in the middle, baffled by her beautiful, heartbroken mother's betrayal of a lifelong friend. When a handsome traveling puppeteer comes to town, Susanna is inspired to stir up the hornets in her town's nest of troubles.