Tizzie's unpredictable lifestyle with her feckless mother has brought her to Roven Mere, a mysterious, rambling, isolated, lonely house.

She and her mother are expecting to be greeted by Lord Rupert and his daughter, Greta (whom Tizzie thinks will be a longed-for friend).

But when they arrive only the staff are in residence.

Tizzie presses the reclusive Finnigan for clues as to Greta's whereabouts, but he only answers in riddles.

Gradually, however, Tizzie unscrambles the clues and learns all about the history of the house and its inhabitants - and with it, the astonishing truth as to why she has been brought to Roven Mere.

This is a totally up-to-the-minute story, in the spirit of the highly-acclaimed CATCALL and as atmospheric as Linda's acclaimed teen fiction. And like many of Linda Newbery's novels, it reaches into the past to complete the patchwork of her richly-drawn characters' lives.