When, as a consequence of an automobile accident, sisters Patsy and Kate discover remarkable wall paintings of roses in a ramshackle old house, they are tormented by the realization that the paintings will be lost if the house is destroyed. Their obsession with saving the house, and therefore the paintings, results in possible danger as new friends lead them into the surprising world of international art. Their horizons expand as the mystery surrounding the paintings gradually unfolds, and their personal worlds are thereby enlarged and enriched in unexpected ways.