It’s been four years since young Stephen Moorehouse spent his first summer at his Uncle Phillip Kahle’s mansion overlooking Lake Superior in Michigan’s untamed Upper Peninsula. Stephen’s kidnapper, the murderous Paulie Deluca, has broken out of prison. Will he come for Stephen again?

The beautiful scream-queen, Barbara Jenkins, pays an unexpected visit to Cliffside Manor. Why is Phillip being so secretive about her visit, and why did she bring enough luggage to stay six months?

Phillip’s friend and movie financier, Cyrus Bonaventure, disappears after a wedding in Florida. Laid up with a badly sprained ankle, Phillip sends Stephen to investigate. A series of clues takes Stephen from Florida to Los Angeles and then to a small desert town where he makes a startling discovery.

Phillip creates a monarch butterfly sanctuary with a huge granite memorial stone to honor Britt Adolphson’s memory. When a mysterious woman dressed all in black, her face covered in a veil, appears at this memorial, visitors are upset and frightened. Why is she there? Why does she stand like a statue, not speaking, scaring the children? Something needs to be done.

Several dramatic plot lines weave together in The Monarch Graveyard to create another thrilling mystery by James R. Nelson.