For star runner Gianna Zales, finish lines have never been much of a problem. Deaslines, however, are a whole other story. Gianna left her seventh-grade leaf collection to the last minute, and her place at cross-country sectionals is now in serious jeopardy. Finishing her monster science project will be enough of a hurdle, but with a grandmother who leaves false teeth in the fridge, a father who drives her to school in the family hearse, and an arch nemesis who is trying to steal her spot on the team, Gianna has a lot on her plate this fall.