When Amy Bennet's doctor father dies she is forced to take a post as governess to Louis DeCoucy's two children. Immediately on arriving at the DeCourcy house Owl Court in Sussex Amy finds herself involved with a mysterious young man known as Jonathan Bullock, smugglers, strolling players, a dancing bear and a hunt for a French spy.
When Napoleon Bonaparte returns to France after escaping from exile on the island of Elba Amy is swept into more tense adventures with Jonathan, the children and the bear as the armies of four nations converge on the village of Waterloo. The ensuing battle charges not only the fate of nations but that of many other people as well. Will Amy ever achieve happiness?