Set in post-Victorian rural England, this is the tale of the wealthy but bored Lady Balmforth, who, with the encouragement of her three companions, turns to the mysteries of the dark arts as a possible distraction to her privileged but unfulfilling life. To her surprise, she discovers a terrifying link with her husband's family, which unleashes a chain of events that threatens to engulf the tiny community she calls home. With the intervention of Police Inspector Basil Talbot and the unearthing of long-buried secrets, the scenario becomes one of intrigue, lust, death, and ultimately love and contentment.