The Sugar House Mystery takes place at Patterson Lodge, a country estate inherited by successful New York mystery playwright Gray Patterson, who has renovated the house to open as a bed-and-breakfast inn for mystery fans.The protagonists are Allie Lopez and her cousin Riley Travis, both eleven years old. They live in Butternut, New Hampshire, the picturesque New England village that is the fictitious setting of this series. Riley is completely at home in the woods; Allies a city girl whose family has moved to Butternut following her mother's divorce.This mystery begins as Allie and Riley accompany Allies veterinarian mother to Patterson Lodge to treat an injured barn owl. Learning that very strange things have been happening at the estate, they set out to help the beleaguered playwright solve the mysteries surrounding his ancestral home.Together they piece together clues, discover and explore secret passages, evade traps laid for them by an unknown malefactor, surmound physical challenges, and ultimately solve the mystery of the mansion, its outbuildings, and a lost gold mine.