The Living and the Dead

Somerset 1894. When the death of his mother brings Nathan Appleby and his vivacious young wife Charlotte back to the family estate, they must turn the farm's fortunes around or risk ruin, and the devastation of the local community. Though the farm and its future demand their attention, when a vulnerable teenage girl is brought to Nathan, seemingly possessed by a terrifying spirit, he cannot leave her to suffer. Nathan is a pioneering doctor who has worked at the forefront of the emerging science of psychology. He's an expert in mapping the dark places of the mind. Nathan believes there is always a rational or scientific explanation to be found for life's mysteries. So although Harriet's case is disturbing, Nathan must use every psychological technique he has to find a way to cure her, to free her from this terrible burden. But what if Nathan is wrong - what if it's not an illness of the mind? Could Harriet actually be haunted?

When a young boy is disturbed by terrifying visions, Nathan finds himself drawn into another case. Charlie's nightmarish hallucinations lead him into increasingly dangerous situations, and Nathan must find a way to help him before his imaginary friends do some serious harm. But Nathan's belief in scientific and rational explanations is rocked by a growing sense of unease, as he starts to experience some mysterious visions of his own. Are all these strange events linked merely by coincidence, or is there something deeply wrong at Shepzoy? Gwen recognises that Charlotte wants a baby, and tries to find a way to help her. But Charlotte must also steer a safe course for the farm while her husband is preoccupied, and the possibility of a new railway line across their land could offer the chance she's been hoping for.

Charlie's death leaves Nathan struggling with unanswerable questions, and rakes up his grief over the death of his son. But it's harvest time and Charlotte needs everyone to pull together to get the harvest in - the farm's future rests on the flowing fields of wheat. Yet when a series of freak occurrences threaten the crop, Peter, a disturbed young villager is blamed; and Nathan must step in. Peter is vulnerable and suffering, hearing voices in his head that demand a blood sacrifice. While Charlotte works to save the harvest, Nathan must put his own troubles aside. Can he unravel a dark family secret to save Peter from both a vengeful spirit and the superstitious villagers turning against him?

A desperate Nathan tries to contact Clarity's spirit - was her message a blessing or a curse? Recent events have made Nathan doubt everything he once believed, but he's convinced he can get to the bottom of these mysteries. But his growing fascination with spirits is driving him away from Charlotte. And while Charlotte is holding everything else together on the farm, she is also guarding a secret of her own. When a young woman goes missing and a local man's strange behaviour causes fear amongst the villagers, Nathan is determined to lead the search for them both. Is this just a tangled love affair or is there something more sinister - more supernatural - going on?

Nathan's increasing obsession with the spirits haunting Shepzoy is taking its toll on Charlotte and the farm. And his attempts to involve Harriet in his experiments infuriate the Dennings. Will he risk all his relationships to pursue the truth? No one believes what he's seen and heard, and even Nathan is left wondering if it's all just been in his head. It's All Hallows Eve, and when one of the railway engineers is left so terrified by a haunting vision that the railway suspends all work, Nathan is convinced he must find a way to banish the spirits from Shepzoy. But nothing will prepare him for the horrors in store, horrors which will engulf the whole village, putting everyone in terrible danger. Can Nathan convince Denning to carry out an exorcism and free Shepzoy from this terror?

Shepzoy is a changed place after the horrifying events of All Hallows Eve. Nathan's desperate attempts to contact Gabriel have left him on the edge of madness, and Charlotte is struggling to hold their marriage and the farm together. The harder she tries to save Nathan the further he pushes her away. As the increasingly strange events reach a haunting climax, could Nathan finally unravel the mystery of the woman with the book of light?