Wales has reached the apex of her industrial clamour. But young Tom Mortymer,
son of rich industrialist Iestyn Mortymer, has turned his back on his inheritance,
exchanging the bell-clang and fire of his Upper Forest Tinplate Works in Morriston
for the simplicity and wanderlust of a gypsy existence with his young Romany wife,
Jen Wildflower.

In time they come to settle on Flatholm Island where they become a refuge for the
animals. Self-sufficiency is their ultimate goal; the substantial income from tinplate
is ignored.

But their simple idyll does not last. They are aware of a strange malevolence towards
them.

One frightening incident follows another until it is clear to tom and Jen that they will
have to abandon their home and return to Cefn-Ydfa, their mansion in Maesteg. Their
decision coincides with the arrival in Cardiff of Jethro Mortymer, Tom's uncle - whom
he had long believed dead. Would Jethro be able to shed any light on Tom and Jen's
continuing nightmare?