Thirteen-year-old Mary Alice Gallegan is the quarterback for the Our Lady Panthers football team. Being a girl quarterback in a boy's game is the least of her problems. First, there is her dad, whose chronic gambling habit is tearing the family apart. Then there are the mysterious flying creatures that seem to be following her. Finally, there is her battle with the evil sorcerer Sam Ridge, whom she must defeat to save her dad from his wicked clutches. With the help of the Notre Dame halfback legend George Gipp, whose ghost she befriends, Mary Alice must travel to the Ghost World to bring back a crystal that is the key to destroying Sam Ridge. Their quest ends with a final clash in a strangely haunted house, and Mary Alice and George discover they have forged a friendship that crosses the boundaries of time.