Trapped in a dead Iowa community with no decent boys her age, twelve-year-old Dagmar invents a fantasy boyfriend, who gets her in terrible trouble when he argues with her and makes her talk back to him in front of family and friends
Dagmar's dislike of beautiful Ashley Fingerhut--a new girl with curly blonde hair, a great figure, and a knack for stealing Dagmar's boyfriend--gets the better of her when she plays a series of tricks on Ashley which all backfire
Dagmar makes a deal with Edgar, the only warlock in New Berlin, Iowa: she will convince Aunt Gretchen to go out with him if he will use his powers to make James Mann fall in love with her.