The scene is a small Southern town where the Penmarks live with their young daughter, Rhoda. On the surface Rhoda is sweet, charming, full of old-fashioned graces, loved by her parents, admired by all her elders.
But Rhoda's mother has an uneasy feeling about her. When one of Rhoda's schoolmates is mysteriously drowned at a picnic, Mrs. Penmark is alarmed - for the boy who was drowned was the one who had won the penmanship medal that Rhoda felt she deserved.
This tense thriller has chilled audiences for decades.