At a mansion called Knowl, somewhere in the Irish countryside, teenager Maud has just inherited everything after the death of her father. However, being a minor and, more unfortunately for her, a woman and therefore not fit to make decisions for herself; Maud becomes the ward of her uncle Silas until she comes of age. Keen to honour her father’s wishes and the terms of her inheritance, Maud welcomes Silas to her home even though she barely knows him and that he was once accused of murdering a man to whom he owed money – but got off due to lack of evidence. Silas makes himself at home, along with his feckless son Edward and self-absorbed daughter Emily. Before long, Silas’s sinister intentions become clear, but Maud is more of a match than Silas bargained for; she is no damsel in destress.