The Baudelaire orphans Violet, Klaus, and Sunny go off to live with widowed Aunt Josephine, who ia a very nervous lady and is afraid of almost everything Her great passion in life is English grammar Unfortunately for the orphans, Aunt Josephine's house is perched precariously on a cliff that overlooks Lake Lachrymose, a lake filled with deadly leeches In addition, Hurricane Herman is headed toward them But, most unfortunate for the orphans, Count Olaf, in the guise of Captain Sham, has found them and gained the trust of Aunt Josephine Once again, it is up to the orphans to use their wiles in order to stay out of his evil clutches