Hester's three star pupils and a governess have disappeared. Led by a dogged Sergeant, local men search for the missing. Has something supernatural befallen them? Or has a human outrage occurred? An aristocratic young Englishman, Michael Fitzhubert, was the last person to see the girls, and when the search is abandoned, he is compelled to return to the Rock where he makes a shocking discovery.
A search is organized with the governor's nephew Mike Fitzhubert, the last person to see the missing party alive, taking part. One pupil, Edith Horton, is found, claiming the others were consumed by a red cloud. After a week the search is called off with no progress made beyond French mistress Dianne de Poitiers announcing that she saw two horsemen near the rock but Mike and stable boy Albert return to the rock, making a positive discovery. Back at the school a snooper is also making interesting finds.—don @ minifie-1