Janie's noticed that her bedroom has been getting a bit cluttered lately, so she figures it's time to clear some things out. That means putting the stuff she no longer needs up in the attic.

It's while she's doing this that Janie gets a lot more than she bargained for. After looking through a box of sweaters she used to wear as a child, she comes across a large black trunk with the letter h on it. She doesn't know what it contains; it's probably just her old baby clothes, she thinks. But when she opens it up, she sees that there are a lot of papers and photographs inside.

At first, Janie finds the whole experience rather boring. There are lots of school reports, old term papers, and some quizzes filled in by someone called Hannah. But things start to get interesting when she finds an old photo album. Inside the album, there's a picture of a pretty girl of about twelve or thirteen years of age looking back at her.

Then, from behind the pile of papers, a little piece of fabric sticks up. It's a piece of white cloth with tiny dark polka dots. With hands of ice, Janie lifts the material from out of the trunk and realizes, to her astonishment, that it's the dress from the milk carton.