Summary

In the Introduction, is moving day for Manfred Bernado to a town called Midnight. As Manfred removes his boxes from the U-Haul, his landlord (Bobo Winthrop, who also owns the pawnshop) and Joe Strong, another neighbor from the Antique Gallery and Nail Salon, come over to help. From her window another neighbor, Fiji Cavanaugh, tries to decide whether she should help unload the truck as well, but decides to take lemonade and cookies over to the house instead. By the time she gets organized, however, the men have gone to the restaurant for lunch. As they walk to the restaurant, Manfred realizes that there are a lot of empty buildings and Bobo explains that there are people who live around the town, but Midnight, itself, is small.

When the men get to the restaurant, Manfred meets the owner and cook, Madonna Reed...