Fourteen-year-old Chad Chapel has a dream: to someday find a great treasure. Previous efforts have only awarded him trouble.

His parents--his mother especially--often try to dissuade his adventurous ambitions, but when ninety-three-year-old Anston Kagle innocently shares a story of lost gold hidden on "Sacred Ground," nothing will sway the young sleuth from its pursuit. Chad secretly enlists the help of his best friend, Rodney Meeks, and schoolmate Maggie Pearce.

Rodney is daring and unpredictable. The Sacred Ground is said to be of Native American origin, and Maggie is a full-blooded Cherokee, giving rise to Chad and Rodney's belief that she is the only person who can show them what to look for.

Maggie is dubious of the scheme but is intrigued enough by Chad's charm to join the effort. Set in a small village in rural Southern Indiana, the search leads the trio on a roller coaster of challenging events, full of emotional highs and troublesome lows.

Spiritual undertones--including the powers of prayer, ancient chants, spirits, ghosts, and curses--haunt the teens throughout their search. Difficulties and dangers far beyond their initial expectations plague their efforts.

Yet they persist. Will the illusive treasure be found, and at what cost? The Sacred Ground does not reveal its secrets easily, and what is found surprises everyone.

. .