Veterinary surgeon Clara Benning is young and intelligent, but practically a recluse. She lives alone in a quiet village and shies away from human contact wherever possible. But when a man dies following a supposed snake bite, the victim's post mortem shows a higher concentration of venom than could ever be found in a single snake. Clara is drawn into the investigation. As Clara unravels sinister links to a barbaric ancient ritual, an abandoned house and a 50-year-old tragedy that left the survivors fiercely secretive, the village's inventive attacker strikes again. Suddenly Clara's own solitary existence is brutally invaded. For someone the truth must remain buried in the past, even if they have to kill to keep it there.