The classic story of two emotionally-stunted children who discover, through their love for a garden, and the teachings of a boy of the English moors, that the key to happiness lies in caring for others. The story opens as two British officers in India discover 10-year-old Mary Lennox alone, her parents having just died in the cholera epidemic. She is sent back to England to live with an uncle, Archibald Craven, whom she doesn’t know, in the foreboding Misselthwaite Manor. His son Colin is sickly and bedridden and his cries can be heard echoing down the dark hallways. Initially Mary is a spoiled, unloved and unloving creature who demands everyone obey her. A housemaid, Martha, encourages her to play outside in the fresh air. Mary soon meets Dickon, a boy of the moors Ben, the gardener and even a wild but friendly robin. One day Mary finds the key to the manor's secret garden and enlists Dickon to help her bring it back to life. Soon they are able to encourage Colin to join them. It is a process of healing and self-discovery that even includes Archibald Craven.