When the village of Priors Bramley was closed off for chemical-weapons testing during the Cold War, a long history of dark secrets was also shut away. Now, more than fifty years later, the ghost village has been declared safe again, but there are those living nearby who would much rather that the past remain buried. Ella Haywood, who used to play in the village as a child, is haunted by the discovery of two bodies. All those years ago, something happened in the village, something so terrible that and she and her two oldest friends have vowed to this day never to tell a soul. But the past has a habit of forcing the truth to the surface. With the identity of the bodies and the mystery surrounding the now derelict Cadence Manor drawing increasing local interest, Ella fears that she will have to resort to ever more drastic measures if she is to make sure that no one discovers what really happened all those years ago.