Nothing much ever seemed to happen in the sleepy village of Hazel Green apart from the occasional tea party, spiced with local gossip. Until Maggie Bell went out one evening for a breath of fresh air and never came back. Could Maggie's disappearance be linked to security leaks at the nearby Air Ministry? Or is a sinister scheme being hatched closer to home? Miss Silver is called in to solve the mystery just as a second person goes missing...
A young woman regains consciousness and finds herself on some cellar steps. At the bottom of the steps is the corpse of a dead girl. She cannot remember who she is, what has happened or why she is there. Terrified and confused she manages to find a way out and, as she flees, she runs into Miss Silver, who offers to help her. A letter in her bag is the only clue to her identity. But by investigating what has happened to her will she find herself in danger? Can she trust the letter-writer? And who is the girl in the cellar?