Two children, on holiday in Crete, are exploring the site of the palace of Knossos, home of the legendary Minotaur. The area has recently been hit by small earth tremors, but their visit takes place on a typically hot and sunny day. There is nothing to disturb the calm. Except that some of the passageways they revisit have changed. Flickering torches, a curious thread which runs along the wall, footsteps and an ominous shadow looming in the darkness are just the beginning of exciting and frightening encounters in the ancient ruins.

Joe and Hannah find a box of buttons in their barn. Mrs Underhill, the old lady who collected them over many years, tells the children that every button tells a story. The Dorset button is a tale of smuggling on the south coast and the Navajo button tells of an encounter with a mountain lion in Arizona. The Icelandic button involves some children in a desperate race against time to warn their neighbours who are in danger of being buried under icy slurry from a volcanic eruption. There is a scrimshaw button from whaling days in New England and a Tudor button involved in an encounter with a poacher. In the end the children have their own adventure attempting to rescue a young deer trapped in a storm. Their own button collection begins.