Somerset, England, 1888. A land and a community on the edge of monumental change, on the great hinge between ancient traditional ways and an industrial, scientific future. A land of ghosts and myths, poltergeists and demons - if there was ever a time for those ghosts to rise out of the ground, this would be that time. At the heart of this small community is Nathan Appleby, a reluctant gentleman farmer who is obsessed with proving the existence of the afterlife.

In a parallel present day, where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a 'Synth' (a highly realistic humanoid servant that's transforming the way we live). In hopes of reducing their workload, a suburban family purchases a new Synth only to discover that sharing life with a Synth has quite far-reaching consequences.

Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson is brought in from the London Metropolitan Police to help catch the killer when a murder in Belfast remains unsolved. As Gibson travels across from London, we are introduced to the murderer himself; Paul Spector.