Cynthia finds out that her newly wedded husband has seduced, ruined, and abandoned one of her closest friends, so she decides to run away from him. She receives a disturbing letter from her distant cousin Hannah who asks for help. Hoping that she'll be safe from her husband, Cynthia moves to Greylands where Hannah lives in an old spooky house with her peculiar husband, a dog, and a parrot. Hannah is frightened to the bone, while Cynthia tries to solve the mystery of the ghostly and discover the secret of Greylands.

Annie Haynes (1865-1929) was a renowned golden age mystery writer and a contemporary of Agatha Christie, another famous crime writer, which often led to her comparison with the latter. Haynes devised complex plots in her works and combined the style of nineteenth century sensation novels with Golden Age detective fiction. In her work, the emotions of female protagonists and themes of scandal, secrets and romance often took precedence over the detective plot line. Her novels are lauded for their quick-pace action and sustaining aura of suspense till the end.