Victor is both thrilled and mystified when his family moves into his grand-uncles somber mansion filled with African masks, taxidermy crocodile mounts - and a dark secret: Four decades ago, his grand-cousin Cecilia, at the same age as he is now, lost her life in the mansions impressive staircase, and the circumstances of her death still remain obscure.

Marketing student Emma Clark is looking forward to her semester break with her boyfriend Robert, which is to begin with a visit to her mother Maggie on the family's beautiful farm.