By the end of her first day, Maggie is already in disgrace for refusing to eat her meals and rummaging through the aunts' rooms, which they mistake for stealing.

The only person who makes an effort to connect with her is Uncle Morris, who, while funny and playful, often frustrates Maggie with his cryptic answers.

Finally she hears them calling her by name and eventually traces them to a secret room behind the attic wall, where two large dolls--Timothy John and Miss Christabel--live in a makeshift home with their small china dog.

Maggie is expected to join the dolls for tea, then accompany them to the portion of flowered wallpaper they call their rose garden.

The dolls fall over lifeless when they are seen by other people, and the great-aunts, believing that Maggie attempted to burn down the house, decide that they cannot keep her any longer.

Maggie recognizes a doll-sized version of Uncle Morris's hat and walking stick, but before she can fully process what this means, she leaves Adelphi Hills for good.

A year later, still haunted by the memory of Adelphi Hills, the lessons she learned there allow Maggie to successfully bond with her new foster family.