Sophie and Sam Shattenberg are two Jewish sisters from Queens, New York. Both love knishes and kosher pickles. Both have said "I'm wawkin' here!" to cab drivers--and meant it. When the unthinkable happens and their father dies, the girls are devastated. Desperate to get away from their greedy stepmother, they withdraw their father's money from the bank, pick up fake IDs, and hit the road. All is well until their car breaks down outside of Venice, Indiana, a town so isolated that the mechanic tells them, "You could get lost here forever." Which is exactly what they decide to do....

Sam and Sophie arrive in the small town of Venice, decide to stay, and try to blend in. They get jobs, make friends, and practice "talking the talk" instead of "tawking the tawk." Then the most popular girl in town--the queen of the upcoming Rose Festival--disappears. The sisters were the last people to see her and so become prime suspects. Sophie and Sam realize that they're going to have to find the missing girl themselves if they want to clear their names. Even if their names are fake....