Scout's seventh adventure reacquaints us with his three friends and introduces some new characters. One is Uncle Bob, long absent in North America but now back in the old country where he and his wife settle into a small but honest-to-goodness castle! Naturally Tom and his friends, including Scout, are invited to spend the summer holidays at Uncle Bob's intriguing house. Actually, the invitation is more like a challenge: Uncle Bob pretends to have a low opinion of "modern youth"; he thinks they're soft and over-pampered. To prove him wrong, Tom and his friends decide to travel on foot. But on the journey, little goes right: disasters dog their footsteps and danger is their constant companion . . . Their arrival marks both victory and defeat . . .