When single, independent Fallady receives the unexpected legacy of an old watermill in the Welsh borders she wastes no time in moving there, only too happy to escape her dreary life in London. However, the beautiful, isolated house turns out to conceal a number of secrets, not least the two staff who act as cook and gardener and who seem unduly concerned for her welfare. Are they ghosts, as almost everyone else seems to believe? And what is the truth about the ruined village nearby? Her search for answers leads her into an encounter with the eighteenth century and to the love of her life, but as the mystery slowly unravels and the last, devastating secret is revealed, she is forced to choose between love and sacrifice.