Girl Finds a Mystery Dog But Struggles to Keep Him Hidden From People.
A young girl discovers a mysterious dog and instantly bonds with him. However, keeping him hidden from others becomes a challenge as she faces curious neighbors and unexpected situations, determined to protect her new friend at all costs.
‘SPOILER ALERT’
The movie opens with people dressed in black walk toward a cemetery. Among them is a thirteen-year-old girl, Maria Merryweather, holding red roses and looking devastated. It is the funeral of her father, Colonel George Herbert Merryweather. The priest begins to pray for the deceased as Maria tosses one of her roses into the grave. She notices a man standing at a distance, watching her, but when she looks again, he is gone.
After the funeral, Maria and Miss Heliotrope meet with the lawyer. He informs them that Colonel George lost all his wealth, including their home. The only thing he left Maria is a book titled The Ancient Chronicles of Moonacre Valley.
That night, Miss Heliotrope tries to comfort Maria about losing her home and her father’s fortune. Maria assures her she is fine, and Miss Heliotrope reluctantly leaves the room. Once alone, Maria picks up The Ancient Chronicles of Moonacre Valley and begins to read.
The book starts by describing a young woman in Moonacre Valley. She is beautiful, and nature loves her as if she is its own daughter. One day, the moon blesses her with a gift—the moon pearls. This changes the magic of the valley completely, and after that, she is called The Moon Princess.
After this is a reunion of two powerful families. The Moon Princess, daughter of the De Noir clan, is going to marry Sir.Wrolf Merryweather. For the marriage, her father, Sir.William De Noir, gives them a rare black lion as a gift. Sir.Wrolf gives his bride a unicorn as a wedding gift. After this, the Moon Princess reveals the pearls that are given to her by the moon. The pearls are so powerful, and they can grant any wishes, both good and evil. At the mention of evil, Maria closes the book, scared.
The next day, Maria is supposed to leave the house. She is going to move with her uncle to another city. She packs her things and bids farewell to the house’s staff. As she is doing so, Miss Heliotrope also packs her clothes to follow her. Maria asks why she is coming with her, but Miss Heliotrope promised Maria’s mother that she would always take care of her, and now she has to keep that promise.
They both get into the carriage that is going to take them to Maria’s uncle’s house and start the journey. The carriage travels over uneven ground, bumping up and down the entire way. This disturbs Miss Heliotrope, who takes out a pill to ease her discomfort, but at the exact moment, the carriage bumps strongly, and she drops it.
Looking at the road and the surroundings, Maria wonders how she is going to live in the countryside because there is not much there. She is used to living in the city, and this is a big change for her.
To distract themselves, they both start to sew. After a long journey, they reach a place, and the carriage stops. They ask the coachman if they are already there and lean their heads out to see their surroundings. At this moment, two men come and attack them. The attackers try to pull them out of the carriage, but Maria uses the needle she was sewing with to stab one of them, making him let her go. Miss Heliotrope also hits the other attacker with her staff. The coachman, who is trying to open a gate, comes back, starts the carriage, and closes the gate door on the attackers.
They finally reach Sir.Benjamin’s house. He waits for them by the door and greets them as they arrive. He welcomes them to Moonacre and offers cold condolences. Maria extends her hand for a handshake, but he ignores it and turns to Miss Heliotrope. She begins telling him about their journey, but he cuts her off, saying she can share her fascinating stories another time. He then leads them inside the house, where a big black dog stands in front of them. Sir.Benjamin introduces the dog as Wrolf and mentions that it can kill in an instant. He then tells Maria not to worry because she is a Merryweather, so Wrolf will not harm her.
He leads them to the hallway where their rooms are located. He shows Miss Heliotrope her room, and she tells Maria to follow, thinking her room will be next to hers. However, Sir.Benjamin informs them that Maria’s room is in the tower. Maria tries to protest, but Sir.Benjamin orders her to follow him, saying she should see her room before refusing.
He takes her upstairs, points to a door, and leaves without a word. She wishes him good night, but he is already gone. She touches the walls and notices they are dirty. However, when she enters the room, he pointed to, it is beautiful. The walls are covered with paintings, and the ceiling is painted to resemble a night sky filled with stars. There is a big bed, and in front of it is a fireplace. Maria looks around the room in excitement.
The next morning, Maria wakes up and sees cookies and milk by her bedside. She takes one and gets up to start the day. She notices a dress on the chair with an “L” written on the sleeve. She doesn’t like the style, so she goes through her own clothes and picks one. She then heads out with the book her father gave her.
Sir.Benjamin sees her and calls out to her. He notices the book in her hand and asks where she got it. She tells him her father gave it to her, but he snatches it away and puts it aside, saying the book belongs here. She demands it back, but he ignores her and walks away. Frustrated, she goes to Miss Heliotrope, who is enjoying her breakfast, to complain, but Miss Heliotrope tells her to sit down and eat her breakfast.
Sir.Benjamin joins them at the table. Miss Heliotrope tries to make conversation by complimenting the food, but he tells her to enjoy it in silence. He cracks an egg into his drink and gulps it down, leaving the two women in awe. Maria asks for her book back, but he ignores her. Miss Heliotrope asks if he has had the same cook for a long time, assuming the cook is a woman, but he replies that no woman has set foot in the house for years, and the silence has been blissful.
When Miss Heliotrope keeps talking, he shouts at her, demanding silence during meals. Maria interrupts their exchange and asks why he invited two noisy females if he values peace so much. He coldly explains that his brother died in debt, and he doesn’t have a choice. He then begins to speak poorly of Colonel George, angering both Maria and Miss Heliotrope.
Maria defends her father, saying that he fought for his country, but Sir.Benjamin tells her that he got into debt because he borrowed money from the wrong people instead of asking him for help due to his pride. He reminds Maria that she is a Merryweather and that this is where she belongs.
After breakfast, Sir.Benjamin gives them a tour of the house. Most rooms are off-limits, and they cannot enter them. Maria asks who their attackers were and Sir.Benjamin tells her the attackers are the De Noir clan, and they should be wary of them. Maria, puzzled, asks if they are the same as the De Noir clans from the book and Sir.Benjamin clarifies that they are real and dangerous. He then shows them their classroom and leaves. They sit at a desk, with Miss Heliotrope teaching Maria French for the day.
The next day, Maria wakes up and notices there are no cookies by her bedside. However, when she looks around, she finds them placed on her cabinet. She takes them and eats. She notices another dress on the chair but, again, doesn’t like the style and chooses to wear her own clothes.
She leaves her room and starts walking around the house until she notices a piano covered with a sheet. She removes the sheet and sits down to play, but the piano begins to play by itself. While she is sitting there, Sir.Benjamin sees her and takes her outside, announcing he is going to teach her horseback riding. Miss Heliotrope tries to explain that women do not usually sit on horses and that Maria has never ridden one before, but she is ignored. Frustrated, Miss Heliotrope returns to the house.
Sir.Benjamin tells Maria that every Merryweather should know how to ride a horse. Digweed brings out a white horse for Maria and encourages her to touch it. At first, Maria hesitates, but when she does, the horse proves to be friendly.
Maria hops on the horseback and goes riding with Sir.Benjamin. After a while, Sir.Benjamin tells her that it is getting late, and they should return to the house. Maria, who is enjoying her time, asks to stay a little longer. Sir.Benjamin warns her not to go into the forest because he can only vouch for her safety if she stays within the boundaries of Moonacre. He leaves her there and heads back to the house.
After he leaves, Maria decides to look around, but curiosity gets the better of her, and she ventures into the forest. As she enters, she sees a wounded rabbit and picks it up, but soon she is surrounded by men. She notices a wound from her needle on one of the men’s hands and realizes he is the one who attacked them in the carriage. The man, Robin De Noir, tells her his father is waiting to see her and grabs her hand, trying to force her to follow him. However, Wrolf appears and scares them all away. Maria laughs as they run and then picks up the rabbit to take it home.
Meanwhile, Coeur De Noir arrives with his other men and scolds Robin, calling him useless. Maria returns home with the rabbit. Sir.Benjamin sees her and tells her that the rabbit will be her responsibility, but from her knowledge of animals, she knows it likely won’t survive the night. He warns her again to stay away from the forest.
Miss Heliotrope enters the room and notices the dirt on Maria’s dress. She quickly tries to clean it but is startled when she sees the rabbit. Maria tells her it is a rabbit and that she plans to take care of it.
Later that night, while Maria is in her room, she goes to the window and sees a white unicorn passing by. She then returns to her bed and notices a shooting star on her ceiling.
The next morning, she wakes up and sees Sir.Benjamin playing the piano. She approaches him and asks what is going on in this place. She tells him about the horse she saw the previous night, the stars in her room, and asks who puts the biscuits and milk in her room every morning. Sir.Benjamin walks to the dining room, ignoring her, but when she persists, he shouts, “Will you ever stop asking questions?” and storms out of the room.
Miss Heliotrope tells Maria to sit, and Maria takes a seat by the dining table. Wrolf then approaches Maria and tries to communicate. Realizing he is trying to show her something, she follows him and notices a door at the far end of the hall. She pushes it open and finds herself in the kitchen. The chef introduces himself as Marmaduke Scarlet. He has the ability to disappear and reappear in different places and moves incredibly fast.
He shows her his ingredients and asks what she wants. She asks if he is the one who leaves the biscuits in her room, and he confirms it. He then tells her that over the past few days, things are starting to come back to him because magic has returned to the valley. He also mentions the book and tells her she can find it in the library if she wants to read it. Finally, he gives her a stargazer pie to enjoy while reading.
Maria goes to the library and starts looking for the book. She pulls a book from the shelf, which opens a hidden compartment. Inside is the book that Sir.Benjamin took from her. She takes it and continues reading from where she stopped.
After the Moon Princess reveals the pearls, everyone desires to take them. Her father announces that the pearls will remain in the De Noir house. Sir.Wrolf Merryweather protests, insisting that he will take the pearls to his house. They snatch the jewelry box from the princess and begin fighting over it. Seeing this, the Moon Princess becomes furious and casts a curse upon the valley. She declares that a pure soul will one day walk among them, and if that soul is not heard and the two families do not reconcile, Moonacre will be engulfed by darkness. The pearls also disappear, never to be seen again.
Maria runs back to Marmaduke and tells him about the curse. However, he already knows and explains that the new Moon Princess can save Moonacre by reuniting the families and returning the pearls to the sea. He then talks about the Moon Princess, mentioning that legends say the Moon Princess can see a white horse. Realizing where this is going, Maria asks if she is the one meant to make peace between the two families. Marmaduke confirms and warns her that time is running out. Unable to believe this, Maria calls him insane and runs away from him.
In her room, Maria calculates the years and realizes there have already been 4,999 moons. The next moon that rises will be the 5,000th. After figuring this out, Maria decides to leave the place and packs her bag. She then leaves and starts walking in the woods.
As she walks, she hears a whisper calling her name from a cave. Curious, she goes inside. A woman greets her and invites her in, and Maria follows. The woman has transformed the cave into a home filled with animals like rabbits, snakes, and hedgehogs. Maria is shocked at the sight of the snake with the woman, but the woman reassures her that it is harmless.
Maria notices the “L” on the sleeve of her dress and asks if she is the “L” embodied for the strange clothes left in her room. The woman confirms this and introduces herself as Loveday. At this moment, Maria has a vision of Moonacre being engulfed in darkness and becomes startled. Loveday asks what she saw, but Maria begins to leave. Loveday pleads with her to stay, saying that Maria’s father also tried to leave, but there is no point in running away. He sent her here because he loves her and Moonacre is where she belongs.
Loveday and Maria sit down to talk. Loveday tells Maria that they are the same, but she failed, and Maria might succeed. Maria asks if Sir.Benjamin can help, but Loveday firmly tells her never to mention that man’s name again. Maria wants to help but admits she doesn’t know how. Loveday explains that the only way to fix the situation is by returning the pearls. Nobody knows where they are, and both families blame each other for taking them.
Maria remembers that Sir.Merryweather had taken the key to the casket. The key is with the book, and the casket is with the De Noir family. She asks Loveday to take her to the De Noir house. Loveday agrees to take her there but refuses to go inside and runs back.
Maria enters the house alone and sneaks inside. She notices the De Noir family having a meal and peeks at them from upstairs. However, Coeur De Noir sees her, and before she can escape, a guard catches her and brings her to them. She hands Coeur the key, but he mocks her, saying they had already opened the casket and the pearls were not there. He tells her that Sir.Wrolf Merryweather took them and that the pearls are with the Merryweathers.
Now that the 5,000 moons are about to rise, Moonacre will soon be engulfed in darkness. When that happens, the De Noir family plans to feast on revenge. Coeur De Noir orders his men to take Maria away. Robin, along with the guards, takes her to the dungeons. While there, she contemplates ways to escape. Meanwhile, in the Merryweather house, Sir.Benjamin paces nervously, worried about Maria. Miss Heliotrope is also concerned about her and shares his worry.
While she is sleeping, a white horse appears on the walls of the dungeon. It is the horse that is supposed to be her mysterious protector. When she sees the horse on the wall, she realizes there is a way out, but she cannot reach the door. She decides to use her dress to lure the guard. When the guard comes, he sees the dress hanging and thinks Maria is in it. As he approaches to take it down, Maria, who is hiding behind the door, uses the opportunity to escape.
She runs out of the dungeon and into the open, but the guards and Robin chase her, determined to stop her. Finally, she reaches a cliff. Realizing she has no other option, they tell her to give up. Instead, Maria jumps off the cliff and lands in the forest. Coeur De Noir, watching from above, tells his men that she won’t survive the forest.
Despite this, Maria runs through the forest, trying to escape from the guards. As she searches for a way out, Coeur De Noir and his men follow closely. He warns them that they must kill her, as he doesn’t want the curse to be lifted by her.
While Maria is running, a piece of her garment gets caught on a branch, but she keeps going. Robin and another man find the piece of fabric and use it to track her. Eventually, Maria encounters Wrolf and asks him if he knows the way home. He leads her back, but Robin and the guards arrive, shouting that the dog will not protect her forever.
When Maria finally reaches the Merryweather house, she finds Sir.Benjamin and Miss Heliotrope both worried about her. Seeing Maria’s disheveled condition, Miss Heliotrope faints. Maria tries to calm her down, assuring her that she is okay now. However, Sir.Benjamin is furious. Miss Heliotrope asks what happened to her dress, but Sir.Benjamin interrupts, demanding answers. Maria begins to explain the situation and what happened in the forest, but he refuses to listen. As she tries to start again, saying she was in the forest, he cuts her off angrily, reminding her that he forbade her from going there. He shouts at her, ordering her to go to her room. Maria, frustrated and understanding, tries to speak, but Sir.Benjamin yells at her to go to her room.
While she is in her room, she hears a knock at the door. Sir.Benjamin apologizes for his earlier anger, asking if she can forgive him. Maria stays silent and does not open the door. He tells her that he is glad she is back and safe before leaving. As Maria lies on her bed, she begins to think of a way to fix the problem before Moonacre is completely destroyed.
The next morning, Maria hears a sound and gets up, holding a candle holder. She hides behind the door, waiting for the person to come in. When the door opens, Loveday enters the room with the dress. Maria appears from behind and confronts her about abandoning her in the woods. Loveday apologizes and tries to explain the situation. She then shows the dress, telling Maria the dress used to belong to the previous Moon Princess.
Maria wears the dress, and Loveday smiles while looking at her. As they sit and talk, Maria tells Loveday she is giving up on everything because nothing seems to work to reunite the two families.
Afterward, Maria asks Loveday to come with her, and they go downstairs. As they pass the piano, it starts playing by itself. Loveday then sits at the piano and begins playing, and Maria joins her. While playing, Maria notices a reflection in the mirror and goes to look at it. In the reflection, she sees Sir.Benjamin and Loveday playing the piano together. After a while, the scene in the mirror changes to a wedding day, showing Loveday in a wedding gown and Sir.Benjamin dancing with her. They both look happy, but then Loveday tells Sir.Benjamin she has something to confess—she is a De Noir.
Hearing this, Sir.Benjamin accuses her of pretending to love him to find the pearls. He breaks a vase in anger, making Loveday cry. She tries to convince him that their love can be stronger than the hatred between their families and that they can unite them, but Sir.Benjamin refuses to listen. He tells her that nothing will work and that hate will always win. He throws the wedding flower out of the house, leaving Loveday heartbroken.
Maria comes back to Loveday, who tells her how Sir.Benjamin broke her heart. Maria says Sir.Benjamin is also hurt, but Loveday insists it was all his fault. When Maria asks why she didn’t apologize and waits till he comes down, Maria laughs at this. Maria then realizes that everything is happening because of pride.
Maria goes upstairs and finds Digweed trying to remove a painting of Loveday. When she asks him about it, he explains that the painting only appears whenever a new Moon Princess is in the house. Maria then brings Miss Heliotrope, Marmaduke, and Digweed to show them the painting. As they look, the painting moves and points toward the location of the pearls, but only Maria can see it. When she tries to show them, they cannot see what she does. She tells Marmaduke that the pearls are hidden in the forest, and he says only one person knows the forest that well: Robin.
Maria doesn’t want to talk to Robin because he is a bad person, but Marmaduke reminds her that pride should not get in the way. Reluctantly, Maria decides to go. She gets on a horse and sets off to talk to Robin and solve the problem by finding the pearls.
Sir.Benjamin receives a letter from Loveday, and Loveday also receives a letter from Sir.Benjamin. Unbeknownst to them, both letters are written by Maria. In the forest, Maria waits for Robin to show up. When he does, he gets caught in her trap. He tries to threaten her to let him go but eventually pleads with her. Wrolf shows up, and Maria cuts the rope with his dagger and throws it back to Robin.
Back at the Merryweather house, Loveday arrives, and Sir.Benjamin greets her. They both stand awkwardly, waiting for the other to speak. Benjamin finally says that apologies need to be made and waits for Loveday to apologize, but she is also waiting for him to do so. They begin to argue, each insisting the other should apologize. Benjamin shows her the letter he received, and she shows him the letter she received. They both realize it was Maria who wrote them.
In the woods, Maria tells Robin that they are the only ones who can stop what is about to happen to Moonacre. Robin, finally appearing willing to help, agrees. At the same time, Coeur discovers Maria is in the woods and orders his men to ensure she doesn’t escape this time.
Meanwhile, Sir.Benjamin learns that Maria is in the forest and becomes worried because the De Noirs are likely to kill her. He decides to go after her, but Loveday insists that she knows the woods better and will go. Marmaduke interrupts, saying he knows exactly where Maria is. When asked how he knows, he begins bragging about having the senses of a chef but eventually admits that Maria told him where she was going.
Maria describes the tree she sees in the painting, and Robin tells her he knows where it is. As they head toward the location, he asks what the plan is. Even if they find the pearls there, what are they going to do? Maria explains that they will return the pearls to their place, and the curse will be lifted. He then asks what they are going to do about his father, who is currently trying to kill her, but they don’t have an answer for that.
Back at the Merryweather house, they decide to go look for Maria. Miss Heliotrope insists on joining, saying she has looked after Maria since she was a child and won’t stop now. They all set off, and inside the woods, Loveday and Sir.Benjamin keep fighting, bringing up the past again. He accuses her of running away, and she accuses him of never coming to look for her. Marmaduke interrupts, telling Loveday that Sir.Benjamin did look for her everywhere but was unable to find her. Loveday smiles at Sir.Benjamin, and they continue walking. Loveday then suggests they split up to cover more ground and goes off alone.
Meanwhile, as Maria and Robin are walking, a De Noir man grabs Robin without her noticing and drags him behind a tree, threatening him with a knife. Maria calls for him, but he can’t respond. At the same time, Wrolf falls into a trap the De Noirs have prepared. Maria becomes scared as she realizes she has lost both of her companions. The men take Robin to his father.
Coeur De Noir angrily confronts Robin, accusing him of betraying him, just like his sister did. Robin tries to explain, but Coeur refuses to listen and leaves to find Maria. Maria, being led by the horse, keeps moving forward, but Coeur eventually finds her. Meanwhile, Wrolf manages to climb out of the hole and attacks the men holding Robin captive. Using the distraction, Robin grabs his blade and runs. Wrolf follows but is shot by one of Coeur’s men.
Robin arrives at the spot where Maria and Coeur are. Maria angrily confronts him about abandoning her, but Robin ignores her and points his blade at his father’s neck. He tries to convince Coeur that what Maria is doing is right, but Coeur refuses to listen. Left with no other choice, Robin and Maria leave him and go to find the pearls.
They find the tree and get inside, while the De Noir men pass by without noticing the entrance. Inside, Robin and Maria begin searching for the pearls and eventually find them on a statue. At the same time, one of Coeur’s men notices the entrance and comes inside. Robin hears the sound and goes to check. He then comes back and takes her in another way.
They walk into a cave, and the pearls shine, leading the way. Maria then sees the horse and notices an opening. At this time, Sir.Benjamin and Coeur De Noir face each other. The sky begins to darken, and De Noir mocks Sir.Benjamin, saying his niece has failed. They start to fight, but Maria arrives and tries to mediate between them. Loveday also comes and helps to try to make peace between them.
Maria goes to the cliff and throws the pearls into the ocean, but they come back to her hands. She catches them and throws the pieces again, but the pieces return and stick to her clothes. Determined, she jumps into the ocean and begins to drown. The pearls detach from her clothes, and when they reach the ocean floor, a huge wave surges toward the cliff. Maria emerges from the water riding the back of the white unicorn.
Sir.Benjamin, overjoyed, hugs her tightly. At the same time, Wrolf is revived and transforms back into the lion he once was. He joins them, and Maria tells everyone it is Wrolf. Sir.Benjamin and Loveday reconcile, and as one of De Noir’s men tries to shoot Maria, Miss Heliotrope arrives just in time and knocks him out.
Sir.Benjamin gets on his knees and proposes to Loveday. Meanwhile, Digweed walks over, stands next to Miss Heliotrope, and holds her hand. Maria and Robin exchange glances, hinting at a potential relationship. With this, the curse is lifted, and Moonacre Valley is restored.
The story teaches the importance of courage and determination. It highlights how trust, reconciliation, and selflessness can break cycles of pride and hatred, restoring harmony.