Novelist Stephen Varley, looking for somewhere peaceful and inspirational to work, rents a house in the quiet south-east Essex village of Cannow's End. Being a stranger there, he joins the local parochial church council to try to get more involved and meet local people. What he does not bargain for, however, is a series of sinister events which appear to be focused on the church building and he begins to document them in his on-going journal. After the sudden death of his new friend, Reverend Alfred Park, in mysterious circumstances, Stephen begins to study the pattern of the events that he has been recording—a pattern which suggests to him that an evil witchcraft force is at large in the village. He sets out to research the village's history and discovers not only that it has a long tradition of witchcraft, but that he has personal connections with the witchcraft activity there. With the help of a loyal band of family friends, Stephen sets out to end a long-running feud which has consumed the village for several centuries. He soon gets embroiled in a whole host of unexpected adventures and is required to face one ultimate magical challenge.