After her parents' separation Penny and her mother moved from New York City to upstate Hog's Hollow--now, six months later, Penny is still coping with the dynamics of her new situation, including possible boy friends, enemies at school, and getting swept up in her best friend Tally's campaign to raise money to save the local animal shelter.

"When a cute pug named Potato is brought in to the shelter where Cecilia Murray volunteers, she knows he is the dog she's been waiting for. There's just one problem: Eric Chung - a popular, arrogant boy from school - adopts Potato first. What's worse, he hopes to train the little tater to become a show-dog superstar. So Cecilia sets out to sabotage Eric's plans. But the more time Cecilia spends with Potato and Eric, the more she questions everything...