Eleven-year-old Josh Ogden leads a comfortable life in a Detroit suburb. Most of what he knows about Good Harbor Bay, far to the north, is from looking at photographs in an old family photo album with his mother. It is where his father grew up, where his parents first met, and where his mother dreamed they would all someday settle.

When Josh s mother is suddenly killed by a drunk driver, his father decides that the dream of returning to the wilds of northern Michigan can no longer be deferred. He quits his job and takes Josh to live with Grandpa Oggy, who is battling old age in a rustic cabin that s become a total wreck. The place smells more like a horse stall than a home.

No one seems to care that this is not Josh s dream. Rather it s like his worst nightmare. As he struggles to cope with his new home, the old life of luxury fades. Friends grow distant; the world of e-mail, computer games, and text messaging dims. At first life involves little more than cleaning up horse manure, shoveling snow, and home schooling.

Gradually Josh begins to embrace his new surroundings. Grandpa Oggy teaches him how to handle the massive draft horses he uses for logging, drive old pickup trucks, and experience nature along the shores of Lake Michigan.

Just as Josh settles in, tragedy threatens again. To survive, he must call on all his new knowledge and skills, testing again his ability to adapt and survive.

Packed with adventure, Good Harbor Bay teaches important lessons about loneliness, loss, nature, and the restorative power of family.