Because the other travelers are fearful of contagion, Mattie and her grandfather are abandoned outside of the city with no way to get back. On the way there, her grandfather becomes sickly and is accused of having yellow fever. Reluctantly, Mattie and her grandfather begin the journey to stay with family friends, the Ludingtons, in the countryside.
Mattie does the best she can to care for her mother, but both her mother and the doctor who is treating her recommend that she be sent away to avoid contagion. However, before a decision can be reached, Mattie's mother falls seriously ill. Many people have different opinions on the best way to control the epidemic, and within Mattie's family, there are debates about whether she should be sent to the country for her own safety. Amidst the intense summer heat, residents of Philadelphia begin to sicken and die from a strange disease that is eventually identified as yellow fever.
Mattie Cook is a 14-year-old girl who lives with her mother and grandfather and helps them to run a thriving coffeehouse business. The novel begins in August 1793, in the city of Philadelphia.
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