Reunited with Tinker, who featured in an earlier adventure, the Famous Five are invited to camp out in a field close to his house, where Professor Hayling, Tinker's scientist father, also lives. When a circus arrives and sets up camp, the Famous Five are content with the mild excitement of watching the circus folk's antics and getting to know them. But real commotion follows when a tower in the grounds of Professor Hayling's house is robbed. Can the Five track down the culprit? And what does the mystery have to do with Kirrin Island?