Lyndle Hall is a Medieval English Manor House deep in the heart of Northumbrias National Park. Fifty years ago, the architectural historian, Bischel, described it as `an obscenity, an offense against all that is right, and good, and clean. But he also described it as `being possessed of a sinister beauty. When Detective Inspector Tate is called to Lyndle to investigate the disappearance of an 18 year old girl, he can only agree with Bischels erudite description. He suspects the girl is dead. So does John Cranmer, a psychic who claims to have made contact with the missing girl. Audrah Sidow is a parapsychologist based at The British Institute for Paranormal Research. She has previous experience of Cranmer, and believes he is a fraud. She also believes there is nothing on earth for which there is no rational explanation. Therefore, when she is summoned to Lyndle, she doubts the son of its owner is genuinely at the mercy of a malign entity. She is, however, at a loss to explain certain of the phenomena that manifest in his presence.