Julie is excited to take care of Lucy, a talking parrot, while her friend Ivy is on vacation. But soon she realizes that she has taken on more than she can handle. Then Julie discovers that an old friend is hiding secrets from her. Could he be responsible for the strange things happening at Ivy's house? Or is someone--or something--else to blame?

An illustrated "Looking Back" section describes the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill, plus the increase in vegetarianism in the 1970s.