Tarnhelm. The very name of the great old house on the cliffs beside the Pacific Ocean spells hope and mystery. Here, with Uncle Dirk and his mother, Cory Winterslow will surely find a home. But when she arrives from the East there is no one to meet her at the airport. The strange old woman who offers her a ride to Tarnhelm is prying, and the things she says about Uncle Dirk are disturbing. It is Peter, a resourceful neighbor boy, who leads Cory over treacherous cliffs to the door of Tarnhelm, and the Scottish caretakers, Fergie and Andrew make her welcome.