Sukeys new step-pa is a mean, bossy man. Every day Sukey wakes at dawn to work in the garden. All her step-pa ever does is watch her and yell if she so much as stops to fan herself. Sukeys ma calls him Mister Jones. Sukey prefers the name Mister Hard-Times. Son one day, Sukey runs away to her secret place by the ocean. There, she calls up Mama Jo, a beautiful black mermaid. Mama Jos got a surprise for Sukey; a magical kingdom beneath the sea without time or pain. But its also without people. Is it really better than the world above?