Skippy Dare and his father have high hopes for a new life after they begin living on their new barge, the “Minnie M. Baxter,” but it’s hard to pull out of the life they have been leading. But when Skippy ends up alone on the “Minnie M. Baxter,” what happened to his father? Who is Big Joe Tully, and why does he feel such a strong attachment to Skippy? Who is Mugs? Do the people in the Basin have to leave after all? And what do hot dogs have to do with anything? First in the Skippy Dare mystery series.