During the Depression, a young Memphis boy trains his pet duck to do tricks in the fountain of a grand hotel and ends up becoming the Duck Master of the Peabody Hotel.
Mild-mannered Jonathan York wants nothing more than an ordinary, dull life until he gets lost in a swamp and evicted from the only shelter, the Cankerbury Inn, where the price is a story to tell, and encounters all sorts of dangers.
When his uncle causes the hotel to fall and stop functioning, Warren must travel into the dangerous Malwoods to rescue the hotel and his friends from evil Queen Calvina, who sees the hotel as the perfect way to spread her control and power.
While staying at an eighteenth-century inn in Vermont, the Boxcar children become curious about the mysterious "accidents" that keep plaguing the owners.
High school freshman Willa holds fundraising events at her family's Cape Cod inn to save the local library and to hook up romantically with JFK (Joseph Frances Kennelly)
While visiting Aunt Molly at a fancy downtown hotel, Cam uses her photographic memory to help one of the guests find her stolen luggage and pet cat, and to catch the thief.
Six-year-old Eloise loves to take a bath, which is bad news for Mr. Salomone and the elegant people gathering below in the Plaza's Grand Ball Room for the charity event of the season, a Masked Ball.
Willie solves the mystery of the disappearing ducklings and involves the motel staff in the rescue operation by telling them that the ducks belong to everyone.