Fifteen-year-old Miss Penelope Lumley, a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, is hired as governess to three young children who have been raised by wolves and must teach them to behave in a civilized manner quickly, in preparation for a Christmas ball.

"Miss Penelope Lumley embarks on an investigation into the mysteries surrounding the Incorrigible children, Lord Ashton, the forests of Ashton Place, and her own past"--

Determined to break the wolfish curse that is threatening her charges and their unborn baby sibling, Miss Penelope Lumley takes a seaside holiday in the hope of gaining answers from an aging mariner.