Anna Ogilvie lives in a Scottish castle surrounded by a deep forest. She's just celebrated her 10th birthday – a birthday like no other for she is visited by a live piece of tree bark whose name is Lyric. He says he is her Sixth Sense. How could this be? Anna soon hears of the Ogilvie legend, a tale which has cast a shadow over her family for generations. It tells of an ancient injustice when a royal stag, the King of the Forest, was killed and blame wrongly apportioned to her family.

Anna decides to investigate and meets other Senses – Lomax, a conker with the personality of a sergeant major; Lucia, a piece of moss prone to headaches if not routinely kept damp; Laura, an all-seeing sycamore wing; Lenny, a large-nosed pinecone; and Lisa, an over-effusive acorn. They say they have come to help. But how? Only Anna can clear her family's name. She must act fast, as time is short before links with the Senses and the past are broken forever and the Ogilvie family destined to ruin.