something is scratching around in the attic above alisons room yet the only thing up there is a stack of grimy old plates alison and her stepbrother roger discover that the flowery patterns on the plates when traced onto paper can be fitted together to create owlsowls that disappear when no one is watching with each vanished owl strange events begin to happen around alison roger and the caretakers son gwyn as the kids uncover the mystery of the owl service they become trapped within a local legend playing out roles in a tragic love story that has repeated itself for generations a love story that has always ended in disaster