Maud Flynn is known at the orphanage for her impertinence, so when the charming Miss Hawthorne chooses her to take home, Maud is pleased but baffled. Miss Hawthorne's motives soon become painfully clear: Maud is needed to help stage elaborate seances for bereaved patrons. As she's drawn deeper into her role as a "secret child," Maud is torn between her need to please and her growing conscience - until a shocking betrayal shows just how heartless her so-called guardians are.