Twelve-year-old Elaine has adjusted well to life in the East Wing of her family's manor, considering she has been a prisoner there for the past five years. When her mother, father, sisters, and brothers mysteriously die one evening at the dinner table, her uncle and aunt take over the manor and leave her locked in the East Wing. Elaine gets her entertainment, human connection, and even her education from watching her aunt, uncle, two cousins, and their various visitors through peek-holes in secret passageways that run throughout the manor. Elaine can't even imagine how much is missing in her life--until one day she meets spirited, bold Etta, who can't resist meeting the girl leaning out of a giant manor's East-Wing window one sunny, summer day. Adventures unfold as the two friends attempt to solve Elaine's challenges. Etta learns to love someone besides herself, and Elaine begins to have confidence in herself. Little do the two know that Elaine is in a greater danger than simply being discovered outside her prison--someone wants her to disappear forever, and it's only a matter of time before Elaine faces her biggest challenge ever.