Lanner Castle is a forbidding gothic building on an island in tiny Loch Huich. The locals know little about its present owner, the reclusive Mr Robertson, except that he is wealthy, writes antiquarian books and owns most of the comprehensive accumulation of torture instruments in private hands. But there are those who know more about Robertson and his past - and of those people he is terrified.

When a sudden series of dark omens strikes at the very heart of Lanner Castle, Robertson calls in security expert Tim Lacy to install a state-of-the-art intruder-proof system and goes into hiding. But Lacy cannot prevent the pride of the gruesome collection, Cumberland's Cradle, from being stolen.

Two days later, Robertson is found fatally reunited with his property and Lacy must run head-on towards the greatest danger he has ever faced...