As legend has it, in Chilton Castle there is a secret room where something terrible is kept. Only three people are allowed to enter it: the current Earl of Chilton, his male heir (only once, three days after coming of age) and the manager of the castle. But then another earl dies before his son’s eighteenth birthday. The manager finds a replacement for him - a distant relative of the count (and also our narrator), who accidentally visited their outback at that very time. And very soon he becomes convinced that the old legend is telling the truth. But it would be better if she lied.