Granddaughter of "The Pinelands Witch," daughter of the self-styled Wizard of the Pines, and with powers of her own, eleven-year-old Florilla Munion finds herself abandoned deep in the New Jersey Pinelands. Rescued by the itinerant Dr. Peace, she is taken to Benderville, a model mill town in the heart of the Pines owned by the doctor's old friend, the eccentric, progressive Benjamin Bender. Benjamin Bender takes Florilla in, and she becomes his pupil when he discovers her talent for his beloved Latin and Greek.
But Benderville is only the beginning of Florilla's journey.