The restoration of Exham Priory had been a stupendous task, as little had remained of the deserted medieval pile but a shell like ruin. But, as the seat of the ancestors of his family, no expense was spared by the American gentleman who purchased it.

The place hadn't been inhabited since the reign of James I, when a tragedy of intensely hideous although largely unexplained nature occurred. It appeared that one of the ancestors had killed all of the other members of the household in their sleep. 

This deliberate slaughter, which had included his father, three brothers and two sisters, was strangely condoned by the villagers and slackly treated by the law. With the sole heir nevertheless legally denounced as a murderer, the estate had reverted to the crown. The accused man had made no attempt to regain his property, and had instead fled to America...