Thirteen-year-old Ted and his older sister, Debbie, are caught up in excitement, adventure, danger and intrigue while on a camping holiday with their father. They are forced by a storm to shelter for the night in an abandoned cottage at the foot of a beautiful, wooded hillside. It soon becomes clear that they are unwelcome intruders, much to the consternation of Ted, who feels that the hill is the perfect place for finding the extinct huia - his secret dream.