'Julie Gordon wins an American Field Scholarship that takes her to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a year. It's a year full of new experiences and new people. There's her "family", the Hembraugers, and their zany daughter Marilyn; Oakland High School, with its Sock Hops, Pep Assemblies and the Senior Prom. There's the whole, different American way of life - Thanksgiving and Halloween, pumpkin pie and blueberry waffles. And, as Julie soon finds out, there's even a different language.

Naturally, Julie is soon caught up in the whirl of activity, as well as becoming involved in a kidnapping on her first day at school.' (From frontispiece)

Fourteen year old Julie Gordon has only been learning dressmaking for a year. When she begins Third Form Gumboa High School, she has the opportunity to enter a fashion competition run by the Australian Wool Board. With the support of her friends, Frankie and Penny, Julie manages to get to the finals of the contest and becomes a prize winning dressmaker and a model too!