Victor is both thrilled and mystified when his family moves into his grand-uncles somber mansion filled with African masks, taxidermy crocodile mounts - and a dark secret: Four decades ago, his grand-cousin Cecilia, at the same age as he is now, lost her life in the mansions impressive staircase, and the circumstances of her death still remain obscure. Alone with his teenage sisters while his parents are travelling, Victor plays with his sword in front of the big mirror in the parlor - and is appalled when he sees the reflection of a masked man! A burglar? But how could he have gotten into the house when all doors were locked from inside? Mrs. Debisch, the gruff, elderly housekeeper, thinks it was just Victor's imagination running riot. Or is she trying to draw a veil over the truth?
With his detective instinct kindled, he finds Cecilia's diary in a secret drawer of his grand-uncles desk.
