Eleven-year-old Peter feels uncomfortable at home and school after his family moves to Brooklyn, until his search for his sister's missing cat opens up a new life for him.

'It all happened in a matter of seconds. My little sister DeeDee was screaming, "No, Grissi! Come back!" But the gray cat was over the fence, running for his life, with a dog chasing him down the alley. DeeDee was sobbing hysterically. Well, here we were in a brand new neighborhood (we'd just moved from Peoria, Illinois, to Brooklyn, New York), and nothing had been going right for me. But the great search for Grissi turned out to be the beginning of some amazing discoveries -- about cats, and people, and all kinds of things....'