Twelve-year-old Bitsy Burroughs has vowed to turn over a new leaf, cause no more calamities, and live at peace with everyone. But while spending a week with her friends Garrett and Ellie on Amelia Island, Florida, the neighborhood bully pushes her too far, and Bitsy's promise of peace quickly comes to an end. With a bruised body and a deflated ego, she must gather her nerve and compete in Amelia Island's July Fourth Talent Show. When strange things begin happening, Bitsy and her friends reluctantly join forces with the bully, Ernie, and his twin sister, Bernie, to discover the dark secrets of a nearby abandoned house. A talking cockatoo and a retired police dog help them along the way as they search for a ghost, run from a witch, and attempt to find out what's so important about a mysterious family portrait, all of which teaches Bitsy the true meaning of the “best things in life.”