Born at the end of the nineteenth century, David Mendy comes from the upper Thames valley in England, a place haunted by memories and customs thousands of years old. These include the "good man's croft," an untilled patch reserved for the land's spirit and rumored to have been the site of child sacrifice. David's family legend also includes ties to stone ruins next to the local good man's croft. But as a lad, he is warned to stay away from the area-that it was to be left to the devil. David later goes to medical school, where he meets and marries Maud Millen, a shopkeeper's daughter-and then the world descends into chaos as the Great War begins. While serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps in France, David suspects his wife's affections may be torn between him and Peter Landrum, heir to the land that includes the good man's croft and David's nemesis since their school days. But Landrum has another secret that he will kill to protect, and when David returns home, more than just his marriage is at stake. Evil has once again come to the good man's croft and though David may have survived the war to end all wars, it's uncertain whether he'll survive Landrum.