Tessa saw a picture of her ancestor proudly holding the deed to Morning. Grandma explained that her grandfather bought the town after moving north from California. "This photo was taken on the day he bought the land, and the same day that the last gold nugget was found. Its wealth dried up." She continued to say that from there her grandfather went up to Alaska but during the great depression he lost his fortune and was left only with the deed to the worthless town. Morning, the once golden link between California and Alaska had become a nowhere land.

The eleven-year-old noticed a photo of the prospector and his horse. Suddenly there were ghoulish-looking children standing in the doorway. They were Tessa's cousins dressed up like ghosts to scare the tourists. They asked the girl if she wanted to come along. Tessa reluctantly agreed.