Eleven year-old Liz Badlock never had terrifying problems. Her parents don’t notice her, and she was picked on in school. She can talk to dogs, which, if you ask her, wasn’t really a problem. But her problems become far worse the day she meets Helen McWrath.

Helen McWrath does not personally hate Liz Badlock; she hates everybody. So if she happens to immediately make Liz’s life miserable as soon as they meet, it isn’t on purpose. She’s a grouchy old lady and she believes in beating children.

When Liz finds herself in Helen’s masoleumesque mansion, she observes a few things: Helen has too many cats; she has an extremely unusual personality; and there is a torture chamber in one of her rooms. Because she isn’t keen on staying there, Liz will have to use all of her eleven year-old cunning to escape…