Summary:

With their father killed fighting for King Charles and their mansion home burnt down by the Roundheads, the four orphaned Beverley children find refuge with old Jacob Armitage, a forester and loyal servant of their father's. In his cottage, deep in the New Forest, the children quickly have to learn hunting, housekeeping and the crafts of living off the land. When Jacob dies, the children are left completely alone to fend for themselves but despite being at constant risk of discovery, Edward, the eldest, is determined to help restore the king and regain his own inheritance.