Anthony Hastings was 15 years old when he and his family traveled from Savannah to Atlanta to visit an aunt and go to Centennial Park to see the mammoth Holiday Festival of Lights.
Anthony goes off exploring on his own for a while, leaving his father, mother and sister at the ice rink, and he meets a frantic older woman who needs help finding her lost 5-year-old granddaughter.
Anthony doesn't really do anything to help-but within a few minutes he encounters a homeless man-whose name is Oscar. Oscar is as tall as he is dirty and says that he's waiting for the Weeb salesman to arrive and give him a ticket to go home. While they talk, a loud voice startles Anthony and Anthony turns to see another odd sight: an older white man, dressed in a sort of safari costume, standing next to a Segway.
The man turns out to be Mike-Segway Mike-and he is holding the hand of the little lost girl. Without much warning, Mike turns the girl over to Anthony and then Mike and Oscar disappear.
The next thing Anthony knows is that he is surrounded by police, demanding that he release the girl-who, as it turns out, is the Governor's daughter
Anthony and his family are then interrogated, and it turns out that the police don't want Anthony to tell anyone anything about Mike and Oscar. When pressed by Anthony's mother, the police let it slip that Mike and Oscar died 14 years ago and the police don't want a story that implies that the park is overrun by ghosts.
Anthony's life is never really the same. He returns to Savannah, completes school, becomes a police officer. Then a twist of fate finds him transferring to Atlanta, to be a bicycle officer in Centennial Park.
The mystery heats up again-and Anthony is drawn deeper and deeper into the shades of time. He loves his job. He falls in love with a beautiful woman. He encounters his past. He is haunted by dreams and indecision and not knowing what to do.
Until-he envisions a plan to confront his past and find a final resolution to the mystery.
