When the Alden children join a group of volunteers to fix up an old house for senior citizens, they try to explain the puzzling behavior of their coworkers as well as investigate some unusual events.
People from all over the county attend an auction where people bid on everything from clothes and paintings to a stuffed groundhog and a potbellied stove.
During the Great Depression, Davey learns that a neighbor's property is about to be auctioned, and he rallies his friends, neighbors, and family to help save Strawberry Farm.
As the contents of Miss Opal's house are auctioned off before she moves to a retirement home, Annie recalls all the things they did together, from baking cookies and making ice cream to listening to ball games on her old radio.
When Danny accidentally buys an elephant, he accepts a job from a zookeeper to ride the elephant from Edinburgh to Manchester that turns into a journey that captures the attention of everyone in the country.
The school is having a secret silent auction of student art works to raise money for charity and Katharine is annoyed because someone keeps bidding against her and also worried that her cousin Crockett will not get the item he really wants.