Stephen

Fresh from the convent, Beryl Seaton accepts a position as governess for the Brooks family. When she arrives at the family's remote house, however, she discovers that a terrible secret is waiting for her in the nursery. Something so horrific, it chills Beryl to her core. Yet her desire to help is so strong, and so genuine, that Beryl nevertheless struggles to look after their son.

What happened to Stephen, to leave him the way he is? What happened to the previous governess at Grangehurst? And what causes the sobbing sound that seems to drift through an empty room? As Beryl's own account of the horror continues, she asks the reader to heed her warning: do not read the twenty-eighth chapter of her story.

By the time she uncovers the awful truth about the family, and about little Stephen, it might be too late for Beryl to ever leave.