Ingrid and her daughter Susan return to the Western Highlands of Scotland, staying at Strathbairn with Gertrude McCleod while their new home, a cottage by the loch, is redecorated. The very same day, the ghosts of Ingrid's past return when Gertrude's brother Miles arrives with his new bride and his friend Timothy.

When her former beau turned betrayer Hamish starts work on a barn conversion, Ingrid is desperate to leave Strathbairn. She rushes to move into the cottage only to find she is sharing her new home with a violent ghost.

Realising the haunting is somehow connected to Strathbairn and sensing that something at Willows Cottage must be returned, she makes every effort to discover what that it is.

While Hamish and Gertrude conspire to force Ingrid into marriage, Timothy becomes a regular caller with a romantic motive. With two suitors and two marriage proposals, who will she choose - and can she solve the haunting of Willows Cottage?

A gripping conclusion to a classic gothic mystery trilogy laced with dark family secrets.