Nancy, Barby, and Doug Holland looked forward to summer in New Hampshire without realizing what exciting secrets came with their new home. The summer would hold more than swimming and horseback riding, blueberry pancakes and picnics at the lake, but they didn't begin to guess how much more until Nancy bid for an old trunk at a country auction. The Hollands were vacationing in an old house which had once belonged to a New Hampshire primitive artist whose paintings had lately become fashionable and valuable. A menacing art dealer, Mr. Cummings, was on the trail of yet undiscovered paintings and would stop at nothing to get hold of them. The children were afraid he might even get their marvelous house away from them. The suspense mounts until the very end of the book, when a squirrel, a secret hiding place and its peculiar contents help the Hollands outwit Mr. Cummings and solve the mystery hidden in the old house. Elizabeth Honness's mysteries have built up a large audience for the author's special brand of action and excitement.