The house on the hill in Merridan belonged to Captain Slocum. It was regarded as a house of mystery, and it was protected by dogs that ran the grounds at night and armed men who allowed no visitors, even when the captain was away from the house, which he often was. At just twelve years old, Don Grier braved the terrors of the captain's domain to steal a watermelon--a feat that made him a local hero. Don lives with mean-spirited Aunt Lizzie, who took him into her care after the death of his father many years ago. When he discovers that his father had been hanged for killing his own brother in a mining camp, Don is devastated. Sure that his father was innocent and that the charges against him were trumped up, Don decides to clear his father's name. Don will have to go to Chalmer's Creek, where the murder occurred, to learn the truth. His mentor is none other than the man who guarded the captain's house on the hill--a man who is somehow enslaved to the captain. When he finally arrives at Chalmer's Creek. Don Grier will become both the hunter and the hunted.