When Treva investigates the disappearance of her family's Christmas things, she finds two mischievous trolls who have never had a Christmas of their own.
Elizabeth tries to tell her family that there is something wrong with her new teacher, but they cannot see it, even though Miss Turtledove has orange eyes, eats desks, and throws fruit at the students.
Eccentric Aunt Sally comes from Canada to babysit the Anderson children while their parents are on a trip to Paris and every night the bedtime story adds another piece to a very suspect family history.