Widow Margaret becomes a governess at the mysterious Hardwood Hall after she is left without any means to live on. However, Hardwood Hall and it's mistress have a spooky reputation, but Margaret chalks it up to the fact that the young widow and her son are not from the the village and therefore strangers regardless of how long they've lived there. Yet the mistress is very protective over her son and they are rarely are seen in town. Add to this strange sounds coming from an abandoned wing and sightings of a ghostly figure roaming the grounds. Margaret has her secrets but so does the household she's come to live in. Plenty of suspense and twists in this gothic mystery.