11 year-old Eleanor has been sent away to a spooky old school run by a great-aunt she's never met. Shunned by the other girls, dismayed by Great-Aunt Margaret's coldness, Eleanor struggles with loneliness; so when a strange, skinny little boy, all flapping arms and nodding head, greets her as a long-lost friend, it feels great to have an ally, however quirky his behaviour. As Davey follows her around, begging her to play games and climb the lime tree 'like they used to,' Eleanor is baffled; then bewilderment turns to horror when she realises the boy knows things about her he can't possibly know, things no one should know...
Susanna, her one friend, helps her face the truth. Unravelling the mystery draws Eleanor into a dark web of family history, awakening a tragic past that soon threatens to engulf her.