The story of Catherine Morland, a well-to-do clergyman's daughter whose imagination runs away with her during a visit to the medieval home of the Tilney's, a family she met while vacationing at Bath. Convinced that General Tilney, the father of her soon-to-be betrothed, is a brutal criminal, Catherine is chagrined when her suspicions - which owe more to her love of fantasical novels than to her gifts for sleuthing - are discovered by her hosts. [from inside jacket.