Two boys moving into an old house in the rural village of Southford, buried deep amid ancient woods, learn from local characters of the history of the house's builder, the fiery Mark Horton, and of his secret passage. Southford Historian James Farrell runs afoul of the local bigwig Thomas Perkins, his old enemy, and false charges result in a manhunt. Chased through the hills around Southford along with the boys' father, the Historian is given a mysterious deal by an enigmatic federal agent: avoid arrest, and he will give them an even chance, so that when Perkins is burned out from pursuit, he can find out the truth. The agent is named Jude Chester.