Katie Minerva is a little girl growing up in the mystical town of Sumneytown in the late 1800s. She is kind and loving, with a curious nature-and she is different from other girls her age. She has made a new friend named Asia, who is the niece of Willow Jewel Oldcastle. Mrs. Oldcastle is a weaver of rugs and blankets who lives on Thistle Twist Lane and is an old friend of Katie's Granny Ruby. Katie meets Mrs. Oldcastle and Asia for the first time while having afternoon tea with Granny Ruby at Dream Weaver Cottage. Even though they've only just met, the weaver gives Katie a gift wrapped in brown paper with a purple bow. It's a beautiful shawl with silver threads woven in with the colorful fabric. With this strange gift, Katie Minerva's adventures truly begin, taking her a world far away from that of her normal, everyday life-for what the Dream Weaver has truly woven for her is magic.