After the death of her mother, young Mary Yellan goes to live with her uncle, Joss Merlyn, at Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor. She soon learns of her uncle¿s strange trade ¿ but does he deal in blacker secrets still? As Mary¿s suspicions and her terror increase, she looks in vain for help from the fearful Cornish people. Only in the Vicar of Altarnun does she find a friend ¿ and in the oddly likeable horse thief they call the worst Merlyn of them all. And, as the drama in this famous gothic masterpiece heightens, Mary must choose who to trust . . .