It's 1845. Recently orphaned and running away from her bullying aunt, 13-year-old Matilda Harris finds herself down in The Devil's Eyeball with an eccentric, well-spoken highwayman; his gang Lump, Stump, Pirate and Scarecrow; and two young "brats" who have escaped from the notorious Andover Workhouse. This is a lively adventure story with strong characters. It is set in a time of great change in England, and arguments about change (Oliver Twist was published by Charles Dickens shortly before this time).