Elaine Masters knew there were problems in her family but how far reaching they were was going to be a surprise. The disappearance of her father and the peculiar behavior of her older brother and sister caused her to wonder what had happened during the holiday in Switzerland, which she had not been part of, but her mother's indifference along with her sibling's interest in other things told her there was little she could do. Elaine's strength lay with her two best friends and their families who considered her an equal part of their world. A close encounter with a mysterious stranger after Elaine's brother pays her some unwanted attention brings the family's problems into the open and a family friend in the form of a detective inspector becomes involved. Elaine's brother realizes his mistakes and in a bizarre way the two of them set about rectifying the wrongs with their DCI friend overseeing matters from a, not too distant, distance. In a lengthy adventure taking in the Channel islands, France and Holland James and Elaine recover their missing father along with their real mother while their older sister's mother, her real character exposed for all to see, is lost. The three Masters, their true source finally established, are able to get their lives back together in a true family situation with their real parents in place.