When his brother catches the measles, Tom is sent to stay with his Aunt Gwen and Uncle Alan in their upstairs flat in a big house.

Tom isn't allowed out to play, in case he is infectious, but it wouldn't matter much anyway – the big house has no garden any more, having been sold for building land.

Tom is lonely and bored with little to do until one night he hears the grandfather clock in the hallway strike thirteen times

He creeps downstairs to investigate, throws open the back door, and where there used to be just a small yard he discovers a large and beautiful garden.

Clearly, something strange is happening; every time the clock strikes thirteen Tom is transported back in time to the secret garden where he befriends an unhappy Victorian orphan, Hatty, and they have a series of adventures. But just what is the secret behind the magical midnight garden?

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