Stephen had proud and wealthy ancestors but his family fortunes had shrunk to practically nothing when this story begins. All that was left in the little Maine house out on an island was handsome old secretary, made in China especially for Stephen's great grandfather who was a wealthy merchant from Salem, Massachusetts. the boy was fond of this beautiful heirloom. In his heart he wanted to be an artist even though his father, a fisherman, would hear nothing of it. And the old desk, so stately and glorious in its red lacquer, stood for everything he couldn't have or be. So you can imagine how he felt when it disappeared. . .

From the dust jacket