When the thieving Caligula Nero Filcher steals the family loving cup from Quebec Castle it is up to Alan Carter, his cousins Ian and Hippolyta Smith, their classmate Agatha King and the gardener's daughter Gemma Cook to retrieve that, which Alan and Gemma had used as the Holy Grail in their childhood games. Along with them goes Alexander, the male of Captain Smith's two hunting caracals, and by doing so, finds himself going forth from Quebec Castle for the first time.