Twelve-year-old Charlie Applegate’s best friend, Travis Marks, has been missing since his foster family skipped town on the last day of school. The only clue to his whereabouts is a mysterious postcard that leaves Charlie with more questions than answers.
Charlie is relieved when Travis shows up at his door, but is filled with reservations when Travis asks him to join him on a quest. Travis’s father left him and his brother in an orphanage ten years ago and now Travis wants to track him down and find out why. Adding to his problems, Charlie has been having a recurring dream that is so disturbing, he’ll do almost anything to avoid it.
Following a new clue, the quest takes them to Cleveland, where Charlie is reunited with two of his best friends from previous adventures — Brian Templeton and Jan Olson.
The four friends make a pact to help Travis, and begin a journey that takes them far from the safety of home. Along the way they encounter a wide array of strange characters: from a cigar-smoking chimpanzee to an aging Voodoo queen.
Will they find Travis’ father? Will Charlie crack under the pressure of trying to keep everyone safe while suppressing his dreams? Find out by reading the final book in the Charlie Applegate series, Charlie and the Secret Journey.
