After her parents are killed in a plane crash over the Grand Canyon, Melanie, a teenager girl and her younger brother and sister are sent to London to live with their uncle, Philip. There, she meets his mute wife Margaret, who is mistreated by and terrified of her husband and only converses through notes. She also meets Margaret's younger brothers Francie, a fiddler, and the rakish Finn. Her uncle is a toy maker, secretly has the power to make his toys come to life, but he also maintains dictatorial control over his family and intends to exercise the same control over the new arrival.