When her mother dies, Mary Yellan goes to live with her aunt and uncle at Jamaica Inn. She finds it a lonely place, where strange things happen. Her uncle warns her to stay in bed when she hears wheels and voices in the night, and most people are too afraid of her uncle to come to the inn. But Mary is not easily frightened, and she decides to find out what he is hidding. She needs all her courage for this, as she gradually discovers that what goes on at Jamaica Inn is part of something more terrible than she ever imagined.