When orphaned Laura Marlin moves from a children's home to live with her uncle in the wilds of Cornwall, it is with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. Up till now Laura's whole life has been one immersed in books - living shipwrecks, or the daring feats of audacious jewel thieves, escaping giant hounds that roam fog-wreathed moors, or magical tigers and savage bears. Now she is ready for a real life adventure of her own - and one is on hand as she is deposited at her uncle's spooky house and told that under no circumstances must she ever venture into the attic and open the locked trunk that is there ...It's a mystery just waiting to be solved, and who better for the job than Laura Marlin, ace detective?