A mysterious masked man has stolen all of the artifacts and it is up to the Backstagers, each with his or her own unique skills, to retrieve them.

During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in.

After moving to a new town his freshman year in high school, Alex Myers is happy to win a spot on the varsity team as a quarterback but must deal with the idea of not playing for two years since the first-string quarterback is not onlya local hero, he is also son of the corrupt head coach.

When Jory transfers to St. Genesius Prep, he joins the stage crew and discovers the magic that happens backstage but when some cast members play with a Spirit board, the ghost light goes out and strange things begin to happen.

In New York in 1971, Jamila and Josie are bused across Queens where they try to fit in at a new, integrated junior high school while their best friend, Francesca, tests the limits at a private school.

"The kids from Mr. Terupt's fifth- and sixth-grade classes are entering their first year of junior high school. There's a lot to be excited about, but there are new challenges, too. Everyone is missing Mr. Terupt. When a fight threatens to break up the group forever, they think their favorite teacher is the only one who can help them. But the kids soon find out that it's Mr. Terupt who needs saving"--