When Elizabeth Stone sought the aid of Dr Gaylord Carew to save her child, Betty-Ann, from strange and terrible danger, he soon discovered that a malign and horrible influence was at work in the lonely house off the New England coast. The others in the house — Joseph, Quincy, and Zoia — maintained that Betty-Ann suffered tantrums; Betty-Ann herself believed that the evil ghost of old Miss Sarai reached across the divide to torment her. The things that happened to Betty-Ann suggested sorcery to Dr Carew, and when he sought to combat them, he found the vengeful influence behind them turned upon him as well. Events move rapidly toward climax and anti-climax in this novel.