Lyris Pembrooke unearths a terrible family secret in the old mansion she recently inherited. Investigating the tragedy, she delves into the psyche of a damaged WWII soldier, aided by her irrepressible spirit guide and the family psychic.

After Inheriting Hammersleigh House from her eccentric great-uncle Patrick, Lyris Pembrooke makes a grisly discovery in the tower room of the Georgian-style mansion – the mummified remains of a child.

To uncover the mystery, Lyris is aided by family psychic, Aunt Clematis and Leander, a spirit guide with an attitude, who prefers hanging out with Winston Churchill and John Lennon. While nurturing a new relationship with Blackshore's Chief of Police, avoiding her controlling ex-husband's demands, hosting this year's family reunion and engaging in a psychological battle with the mansion's butler, Lyris is taxed to her limits.

During an oppressive summer heat wave, a tear in the gossamer veil that separates past and present forces Lyris to finally accept her psychic destiny. Driven to find out who murdered little Tommy Pembrooke so long ago, she begins a journey back in time.