In 1924, while visiting an old school friend's home for the annual Guy Fawkes celebration, Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher is stunned by the supposed suicide of the tyrannical head of the family, who may also have killed a guest.

Something sinister is afoot at Totleigh Hall, the showcase of the sleepy English village of Nether Monkslip. Lord and Lady Baaden-Boomethistle have been in residence for some weeks now, and the villagers are hoping for a return to the days when the lord of the manor sprinkled benefits across the village like fairy dust. But a sudden grisly death intervenes, and Max Tudor's talent for sorting through clues is once again called into play.

When journalist Ava Brent decides to investigate the dark mystery of Overtoun Estate, steeped in myth, she has no idea how dangerous this story will be for her. Overtoun looms over the town, watching, waiting: the locals fearful of the strange building and the secrets it keeps. When Ava starts to ask questions, the warm welcome she first receives turns to a cold shoulder. And before she knows it, Ava is caught in the house's grasp too. After she discovers...

1926. Daisy and her friend Lucy are at a stately home reputed to have the best grotto in the country, for research on their architectural book. As long-held secrets and resentments threaten to explode, even Daisy couldn't predict the deadly events to come.