Beany's been having a pretty rough time of things lately. Norbett, away in college in Ohio, has sent her a letter breaking off their relationship. The Malone's widowed father decides to marry again - a pretty artist named Adair. Unfortunately Adair and Beany get off to a really rough start. Meanwhile, some troubled teens at school invite her to join a secret club - for those who want to shut out family as much as possible. This suits the miserable and stubborn Beany just fine. Misunderstandings abound and Beany starts to feel like her world is falling apart and her situation is hopeless before some light is finally brought to the situation from some surprising places. This is a really nice story. In addition to some thoughtful lessons about family life and misunderstandings, the author is clearly presenting a warning against other sorts of secret clubs that teens of that day might have gotten involved in (especially Communist).