In the Carolina hills, a friend reaches out from beyond the grave His parents dead, Timor is brought to America to live with his uncle in rural Appalachia. Although half-American, this shy young boy has never lived outside of Indonesia and finds it hard to adjust to life in the mountains. His only friend is Wiley Pendergrass, a mysterious old hermit who sees magic in discarded wood. For Timor, Wiley makes a ladder-back chair out of sassafras--a hard yellow wood with powers that will change Timor's life forever.   Accused by a local gem collector of stealing a precious box, Wiley pushes his ancient pickup as hard as he can to escape the police. Screaming around a hairpin mountain turn, he loses control and sails off the side of a cliff. Soon after, the chair begins speaking to Timor in Wiley's voice. His friend may be gone, but with the help of a little Appalachian magic, Timor has a chance to clear Wiley's name.