Kyle Murchison Booth, archivist at the Parrington Museum, has heard of Thirdhop Scarp. Everyone has. The house has been notorious ever since the night that homeowner J. A. Cathcart murdered his entire family, and was found cupping the heart of his eldest daughter in his hands as tenderly as he would a wounded bird.

It is not the first time the house has experienced unsettling events. And it will not be the last.

Now the new owner of Thirdhop Scarp, one Marcus Oleander, is gathering an esoteric order at the house, including Miss Griselda Parrington, daughter of the museum's founder. The museum director demands that Mr. Booth discredit Oleander's occult teachings and end his influence over the credulous Miss Parrington. Reluctantly, Mr. Booth joins the weekend séance.

In the beautiful but eerie surrounds of the house and gardens, Mr. Booth is drawn into an investigation that spans years—and reveals the house to be much, much more than it seems . . .