From the cover flap: Jenny Lydstone was a poor relation. She lived with her cousin Doe, mistress of Longcommon House, a mansion not far from London. Cousin Doe was beautiful, fashionable, and tyrannical; and Jenny was very much afraid of her.

Jenny's only friend was Miss Summerdale, her governess. Miss Summerdale had one remarked in a history lesson, "One must resist tyranny wherever one finds it." When she was dismissed for taking Jenny's part in a dispute, Jenny felt that she too must make a stand. She ran away from Longcommon House and set out to follow her governess to London...