It is May 1939. David Fletcher is fourteen years old and living in dustbowl Nebraska. He and his buddy Ben Watson are determined to become archaeologists. Their ambitions are jump-started when the mysterious Mr. Daley arrives in their small town, hot on the trail of strange, giant arrowheads discovered by a gang of road workers. With Mr. Daley as mentor and guide, David and Ben spend the summer exploring the past.

As the boys unearth the story of the Great Plains peoples, from the Ice Age hunters through the final days of the Indian Wars, their adventures become an introduction to the complex interactions between human culture and the natural world. Rich with details about the ways in which archaeologists reconstruct the past, Summer of Discovery is as informative as it is entertaining, offering an insider's look at this captivating field through the eyes of two engaging beginners.