Lyris Pembrooke unearths a terrible family secret in the old mansion she recently inherited. Investigating the tragedy, she delves into the psyche of a damaged WWII soldier, aided by her irrepressible spirit guide and the family psychic.

After inheriting Hammersleigh House from her eccentric great-uncle Patrick, Lyris Pembrooke makes a grisly discovery in the tower room of the Georgian-style mansion?the mummified remains of a child.

To uncover the mystery, Lyris is aided by family psychic Aunt Clematis and Leander, a spirit guide with an attitude, who prefers hanging out with Winston Churchill and John Lennon. While nurturing a new relationship with Blackshore's Chief of Police, avoiding her controlling ex-husband's demands, hosting this year's family reunion and engaging in a psychological battle with the mansion's butler, Lyris is taxed to her limits.

During an oppressive summer heat wave, a tear in the gossamer veil that separates past and present forces Lyris to finally accept her psychic destiny. Driven to find out who murdered little Tommy Pembrooke sixty-eight years ago, she begins a journey back in time.