Ellingham Academy was founded by Albert Ellingham, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym "Truly, Devious." Years later, Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan to solve this cold case. But the past has crawled out of its grave: Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy.