"Unhappy Penelope Lumley is trapped in unhappy Plinkst! Even the beets for which Plinkst is inexplicably famous fail to grow in this miserable Russian village. Penelope anxiously counts the days and wonders how she will ever get back to England in time to save all the Ashtons-who, she now knows, include herself and the Incorrigible children...."--Back cover.

Fifteen-year-old Miss Penelope Lumley, a governess trained at the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, takes the three Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place to London, England, and learns they are under a curse.

The children and Penelope, their governess, leave London and return to Ashton Place where Penelope decides to take matters into her own hands and do some investigating to find out the truth about the children, Lord Ashton, and herself.