A lovely young bride, Laura Wainwright settled into her husband's oppressive family mansion, but could not suppress the feeling of foreboding that both the house and Richard Wainwright's family provoked in her. Hidden by huge oaks and high hedges, the great stone house had always sheltered Richard's two strange sisters and his mysterious widowed brother.

Feeling like an intruder, Laura found that her growing disquiet had now become a desperate fear, when a series of "incidents" endangered her life. But far worse was her husband's seeming indifference toward her.

Then one night Laura was awakened by the sound of furtive footsteps and the sickly sweet SCENT OF LILACS...