When orphaned Laura Marlin moves from a children's home, a real life adventure is on hand as she is deposited at her uncle's spooky house. Why does her uncle, Calvin Redfern, forbid her to go to Dead Man's Cove? What's the truth about Tariq, the silent Indian boy who lives with the flamboyant Mukthars? Who is J? And who has left the message in a bottle for Laura to discover?