Hawkins Indiana has been plagued by strange events for years now. With the Starcourt Mall's recent destruction, Erica has lost her favorite hangout spot and her "free Ice cream for life" deal at Scoops-Ahoy. To make matters worse, her brother is too busy for her and her mom won't let her play Dungeons and Dragons anymore. This is the story of an ambitious, bossy, brilliant ten-year-old dealing with boredom and the complexities of maintaining friendships through tough times.