Solomon is very angry—at the teachers and his father who have failed him, at the mother who has left him, and also at himself. He can't bear to be at school or at home. His refuge is one corner of the church graveyard, where nothing flourishes except a single rowan tree. Then one day, workmen uproot the tree and, as it dies, a terrible force comes to life. Solomon hears whispers and first-grader Amy Miller dreams of a strange lady with an alluring song. Solomon finds out the graveyard was both the site of a witch hunt and the burial place for small pox victims. Did the witch leave a curse for the miller's descendants? Solomon must uncover the mysteries of the past and save Amy. Can he find the strength to fight the ancient and evil power that has been unleashed?