Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is not a man who likes to leave things unfinished. He is, therefore, at a loss when forced to take leave after his recent tussle with a 'shadow creature', a case that remains unresolved.
Ann Travers is tired of the loss burning in her heart. So when Lethbridge-Stewart is called to Glencross to help the son of an old friend, she insists on going with him.
In Glencross, young Tomas Campbell has gone missing, and his friends band together to uncover the dark secret at the heart of the village. Meanwhile, Arthur Penrose has returned to his ancestral home to find a haunted residence and a doll with a message.
What connects the doll to the strange sounds that scurry around Penrose Manor? Why do the adults of Glencross seem so intent on keeping their children from leaving the village, and what has all this got to do with the 'shadow creature? It is up to Lethbridge-Stewart and Ann to find out.
