It's been two years since his father mysteriously disappeared, and Jim Hawkins is still having trouble dealing with the situation. Could his father have run off, or has something terrible happened to him? Then Jim meets Ruth Rose, the stepdaughter of his father's childhood friend, who is now the local pastor, Father Fisher. Ruth Rose is obviously unstable, so when she confides to Jim that her her stepfather is a murderer, Jim doesn't really believe her. However, as Jim gets to know Ruth Rose better he becomes desperate to know the truth--not only about Father Fisher but also about what happened to his own dad.