A Christmas visitor

Henry Rathbone arrives to spend Christmas at the Dreghom family manor house near Ullswater.

He is greeted by the news that the master of the house, Judah Dreghom has slipped while crossing a stream in the grounds of the estate in the middle of the night, and drowned.

Not only this, but Ashton Gower, recently released from prison, is slandering Judah's name, claiming that his family rightfully owns the estate and that the forged deeds for which he was imprisoned were in fact genuine.

To Rathbone and the two remaining Dreghom brothers, also returning to the Lakes for Christmas, Judah's mysterious death and Gower's outrageous claims seem inextricably linked.