Five years ago, Kate’s partner, Max, abandoned her for his pregnant lover. The affair has long since crumbled, but Kate has become fixated with Vee, her ‘replacement’. In a bid to find out what compelled Max to leave, she moves to Bridgewell, which stands in the shadow of St Catherine’s Chapel, where Vee is now raising her four-year-old daughter, Iona. Warm and trusting, Vee is juggling work, single parenthood and a controlling ex-partner, Max, with whom she is still secretly sexually involved. Glad of Kate’s friendship, she nevertheless wonders what has brought this glamorous but brittle woman to such a quiet corner of middle England. When Vee meets charismatic artist Tom, she is hopeful of establishing her first meaningful attachment since Max. But Kate has her own plans. Against a backdrop of ancient ghosts, mystical forces and long-buried tragedy, Vee unwittingly yields to Kate’s cruel agenda, until the past and present collide with devastating consequences.