Serafina meets Braeden, nephew of the Vanderbilts, the wealthy couple who own the mansion. Angry, Serafina defies Pa and goes upstairs, where search parties are about to hunt for the missing girl. She hides overnight and tries to explain what she saw to Pa in the morning, but he does not believe her. The man sees Serafina and attempts to wrap her in the cloak, but Serafina fights, hissing and clawing at him, then runs.

Suddenly the man envelopes the girl in his cloak, and she disappears. Serafina follows them to the subbasement, wondering how she can save the girl. The man drags along a young girl in a yellow dress. He wears fine shoes and a long black cloak. One night, Serafina discovers an intruder in the basement. The forest surrounding Biltmore is forbidden as well because dangerous and unexplainable things occur there. Pa, a mechanical repairman for the estate, says she is never allowed upstairs near the wealthy guests.

Lately, Serafina wishes for a friend her own age. She also sees in the dark, fits into tight spots, is agile, and prowls Biltmore at night. Serafina loves her job as the estate’s Chief Rat Catcher, hunting and catching rats barehanded. They sleep on homemade cots behind the boiler Serafina dresses in Pa’s old work shirts she neither attends school nor has any friends. Twelve-year-old Serafina lives with her father in the basement of the famed Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina in 1899.

Black cloak book