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Jo Kuan is 17 she works at Mrs. English's millenery, with another girl named Lizzie Crump, who is extremely dull and slow. She lives with Old Gin who is a groomer for the Paynes, and her stand-in father. They live secretly in the basement of the Bells who run a newspaper called the Focus.
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Jo gets fired from Mrs. Enlgish's millenery because her face drives away customers. Even though Jo is way better at making hats than Lizzie.
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Jo takes a new job at Mrs.Paynes house being her daughters maid. Jo used to work for the Paynes as Carolines playmate when she was younger. But Caroline tortured her, so she was warry to go back. But really needed the money for her and Old Gin.
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Mrs.Payne is holding a huge horse race, and she is encouraging the ladies to ask the gentlemen
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During this time period they had just invented bikes with brakes for women called Safeties. Mrs.Payne let Noemi, the cook, ride around Caroline's Safety because Caroline wanted nothing to do with it. But when Caroline found out about it she was furious, so Noemi offered to buy the bike. Caroline set the price at $80. Jo was helping Noemi, so she witnessed all of this.
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Jo overhears from upstairs that the focus might go out of buisness if they don't get more subscribers. If the Bells move, her and Old Gin will have to find a new place to live. So in an effort to help she decides to write and advise collum for the focus, she will call herself "Miss Sweetie".
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While trying to find something to disguise herself with so she won't be noticed delivering her "Miss Sweetie" collum to the Bells, she finds a letter written to a Shang singed from "e". It says "Please forgive me." She figures Shang used to be one of the "Uncles" who lived with them in the basement, but he must have lived in the basement before she was born because she doesn't remember a Shang.
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While Jo is out shopping one day she notices some one at the train station. It's Nathan Bell, the Bell's son. With him is their sheep dog bear. Without warning bear comes to greet her, and she has an encounter with Nathan who helps her off the tracks after bear pounces on her, licking her face.
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Jo continues to write the "Miss Sweetie" columns about some controverisal topics going around the town, like segregation in the streetcars, and wether or not people should marry off their daughters so soon. She also gets a lot of letters of admiration and people seeking Miss Sweetie's advice.
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Every time Jo goes to deliver a Miss Sweetie column to Nathan, a little bit of her disguise falls away or somehow comes undone to show her face.
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Jo has been told by a blackmailer, Billy Riggs, that he has some information she would like to know about. She thinks it has something to do with Old Gin.
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One night while delivering a Miss Sweetie column to Nathan, she asks him where she might find Billy Riggs, and he tells her what bar he tends to hang out in.
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When she goes to the bar they tell her that Billy Riggs is not allowed there, then she bumps into Nathan and Bear by the bar. He lead her there on a dead end just to see who she really was. But then he tells her where Billy Riggs actually is, and then accompanies her to see Billy Riggs.
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After seeing the blackmailer she learns that Shang pawned one of Old Gins possesions, something his late wife owned, a jade bottle. And Old Gin is trying to get it back, but it costs $300.
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On a hunch Jo goes to see Mrs.Payne to ask her if Old Gin is going to race their horse Sweet Potatoe in her horse race to win the $300 prize money. Mrs.Payne confrims that he is, and then Jo sees what Mrs.Payne was writing in her planner, it's a letter and it's signed "e". Mrs.Payne is her mother and Shang is her father!
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After figuring out Mrs.Payne is her mother, she quits, and then to take her mind off things she goes to see her friend Robby who works at a local supplies store. While there she learns from the manager that Shang is Old Gin's son. So that makes Old Gin her grandfather.
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Old Gin gets beat up by Billy Riggs's body guard while he's walking home from work. She finds him at the trapdoor that leads to the basement. She gets help from the Bells and they learn that they are living in their basement. The Bells take them in.
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Because Old Gin can't get out of bed, Jo is going to ride Sweet Potatoe in the race for him.
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Jo tells Noemi about Old Gin and she offers to help because, Billy Riggs is her brother. With the help of Noemi, Jo and Billy come to an agreement, that is she can beat a certain jocky, and a horse named theif, then she can have the jade bottle.
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The day of the horse race, Jo arrives and the horses line up, and then burst from the line. Soon it starts to rain and it gets really muddy, she gets boxed in by the jocky she is supposed to beat, and he wacks her leg with his riding stick, but she soon blows past him, and all the other horses. When she crosses the line they yell tie! She beat Billy so he returns the jade bottle.
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Three months later, she is working for the focus, and her and Old Gin pay rent at the Bells house. When she's not writting, Mrs.Bell teaches her how to cook.