Nancy Drew and her friends go on a ghost hunting expedition and become involved with a gang of thieves who concentrate their activities on collectors of valuable shells.
“Nancy Drew, forget the ghost hunt!” a male voice rasps on the telephone. Despite the mysterious warning, the teenage detective and a group of friends start out on a ghost-hunting expedition to investigate five places reputed to be haunted. Danger strikes at once when Nancy tries to overtake the canoe that paddles itself on Lake Sevanee. Thrills and chills mount as the ghost hunters pursue a phantom horse and ghost rider racing across the field that surrounds the Red Barn Guesthouse. During these happenings and other weird events Nancy finds herself pitted against a dangerous adversary, clever enough to operate invisibly.
"It's all the money I have in the world—" Josy Sykes despairs as a fox runs off with her one thousand dollar bill. Louise and Jean help the handcapped orphan by having her first come to Starhurst and then to a friend's during Christmas vacation. Josy's luck changes when a hunter finds her lost money, but when he accidentally humiliates Josy, she runs away. The mystery surrounding Josy deepens when they learn the name of the man who sent the thousand dollar bill is Joseph Sykes...
When George's mom asks Bess, George, and Nancy to help her cater a benefit for the library, everyone agrees. The event is a Jane Austen-themed tea party, and George even agrees to wear a dress for the occasion! It seems like the party isn't everyone's cup of tea though. The bed-and-breakfast where the event is being held has been plagued by vandalism. Someone is breaking teapots, making a mess, booby-trapping the staircase, and generally terrorizing the old couple that towns the place. No one can figure out how the intruder is getting in and out of the house - and that's when Nancy gets to work!