If someone were to ask Ruby Vaughn how exactly the occult came to play such a large role in her life, she would immediately point to Mr. Owen. Mr. Owen’s penchant for arcane books has been known to get Ruby into her fair share of trouble. And after the last year, she is looking forward to spending a quiet holiday in picturesque Oxford while Mr. Owen attends the annual meeting of his antiquarian society. When Mr. Owen secures two tickets to an upcoming exhibition by Julius Harker, Ruby reluctantly agrees to attend. Harker’s dead body is discovered amongst the collection, his business partner is hastily arrested and Ruan arrives, wanting to speak with Ruby. The murder case is suspicious at best, but the last thing Ruby wants is another investigation. Until an old friend comes begging for Ruby’s help. 

American heiress Ruby Vaughn still hasn't entirely forgiven her octogenarian employer and housemate, Mr. Owen, for bringing the occult into their lives during her recent trip to Cornwall. He claims their journey to Manhurst Castle in the Scottish Borders is simply to appraise and acquire illuminated manuscripts for their rare books shop. But when Ruby discovers there are no manuscripts and receives news of a séance to be held that very night, she begins to grow suspicious about the true reason why they have come. Mr. Owen is desperate to speak to his dead son, but he doesn’t want to face the spirits alone. When the séance --- hosted by a trio of mediums billing themselves as The Three Fates --- goes awry, Mr. Owen’s secrets begin to unravel. When Ruby finds one of the Three Fates murdered the night of the seance, she and Mr. Owen quickly become the prime suspects.

After the Great War, American heiress Ruby Vaughn made a life for herself running a rare bookstore alongside her octogenarian employer and housemate in Exeter. She’s avoided dwelling on the past, but it always has a way of finding her. When Ruby is forced to deliver a box of books to a folk healer living deep in the Cornish countryside, she is brought back to the one place she swore she’d never return. A foreboding fortress, Penryth Hall is home to Ruby’s once dearest friend, Tamsyn, and her husband, Sir Edward Chenowyth. It’s an unsettling place, and after a more unsettling evening, Ruby is eager to depart. But her plans change when Penryth’s bells ring for the first time in 30 years. Edward is dead; he met a gruesome end in the orchard, and with his death brings whispers of a returned curse.