In the spring of 1919, a young man assumes the alias of Marsden Fisher and travels to Maidenstone Hall, the Yorkshire country residence of the Earl and Countess of Scarborough, to tutor their daughter Alice. Searching for the truth about the death of his lover, Alice's late brother Simon, Marsden arrives to find that nothing is as he expected it to be. The house has been half destroyed by fire, the family's financial ruin is imminent, and only a small core of frightened but loyal servants remain to serve them.

Alice and her twin sister Beatrice are feuding so terribly that they cannot be in the same room together. It is clear the family is hiding a terrible secret and the lies surrounding Simon's death convince Marsden to fear for his own safety. The longer he stays at Maidenstone, the more he fears the family will discover his true identity and his relationship with Simon, but Marsden cannot leave until he discovers the truth: about Simon, and the terrible screams that echo through the Hall at midnight.