Winnie hates her new house. She hates her new neighborhood. And she hates her new school. Schallenberger Elementary? Who could even pronounce that, let alone spell it? And why was this Schallenberger guy important enough to name a school after him? Then, as she's digging through moving boxes, Winnie comes across a journal that contains the story of Moses Schallenberger - - and his cat, Biggs. Soon, she finds herself devouring their harrowing 1844-45 westward expedition to California in covered wagons and their stranded winter in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. She's also trying to solve a family mystery about an heirloomed bracelet from the Gold Rush! Will Winnie come to realize the importance of her school's namesake? And will she uncover the truth about her great-great-grandma Winnifred in the process?