John Pickett and his bride Julia depart London for a wedding trip to Somersetshire, where Pickett faces his greatest challenge yet: meeting his in-laws. Sir Thaddeus and Lady Runyon are unimpressed with their new son-in-law, but the squire asks for his help nevertheless. Lady Runyon believes the house is haunted by the ghost of her elder daughter Claudia, who disappeared thirteen years earlier and whose body was never found. When Sir Thaddeus’s groom is discovered dead, Pickett asks the Justice of the Peace (who happens to be Claudia’s widower) for permission to investigate. When Claudia’s childhood sweetheart takes a hand, it appears the distant past is not so distant, after all. It may not even be past ...