Robin finds a haven from the world and the confusion she feels in the velvet room of the deserted McGurdy mansion. The story is set in California during the American Great Depression.
A group of children, entranced with the study of Egypt, play their own Egypt game, are visited by a secret oracle, become involved in a murder, and befriend the Professor before they move on to new interests, such as Gypsies.
Locked in one evening with the vast wealth of the Alcott-Simpson department store, a fourteen-year-old boy meets an unusual girl who hints about the mysterious "they" and tells him of strange goings-on in the building.
Chosen to become one of a group of civil and religious leaders ruling the land of Green-Sky, thirteen-year-old Raamo's experiences make him question their teachings and lead him to uncover age-old deceptions.
