A slick gothic tale, a murder mystery, a reflection on the works of the masters of the French Enlightenment, a tour of Edwardian England, and a work of atmosphere, unease, and suspense David Morris lives the quiet life of a book-valuer for a London auction house, traveling every day by omnibus to his office in the Strand. When he is asked to make a trip to rural Somerset to value the library of the recently deceased Lord Buff-Orpington, the sense of trepidation he feels as he heads into the country is confirmed the moment he reaches his destination, the dark and impoverished village of Ashbrittle. These feelings turn to dread when he meets the enigmatic Professor Richard Hunt and catches a glimpse of a screaming woman he keeps prisoner in his house.