The narrative opens at Rackham, a modest Sussex estate held by the Maple family, where Henry Maple struggles against a slow-creeping financial decay. His prosperous brother William steps in with loans, eventually consolidating the debt to secure a mortgage on the property. As the years pass, Henry is forced into a vague exile in Switzerland with his son John, confident that the war will soon end and their fortunes will reverse. William dies suddenly, leaving his entire estate to his ambitious wife Hilda. Henry returns briefly, realizes the extent of his loss, and eventually dies abroad, leaving young John determined to reclaim his ancestral home.
Back in England, Hilda transforms Rackham into a sham-Elizabethan showplace named 'Rackham Catchings,' accumulating massive debts through antique dealers and fake ancestry as she desperately hunts for a wealthy buyer. John, meanwhile, makes his living on the stage as a ventriloquist and dog trainer, secretly determined to buy back the house for twenty thousand pounds. Wealthy new buyers appear, including the American millionaire Lord Hellup and the newly created Lord Mere de Beaurivage, whose wife Amathea is desperate to acquire the estate. Lord Hellup is accompanied by his spirited daughter Isabeau, with whom John shares a deep, unspoken bond.
During a tense weekend house party at Rackham, the competing claims of the prospective buyers collide. John and Isabeau orchestrate a series of subtle hauntings to frighten off the wealthy intruders, utilizing John's ventriloquism and a headless costume. Lord Mere de Beaurivage, terrified by the ghostly manifestations and his wife's relentless ambition, agrees to an exorbitant purchase price. However, the psychological strain proves too much, and he collapses after a terrifying encounter with the apparition in his bedroom.
As the household descends into chaos with doctors, nurses, and panicked servants, Lord Hambourne leaks the scandal to the press, and photographers swarm the grounds. The narrative resolves with the estate's future hanging in the balance, while John and Isabeau quietly prepare to claim what is rightfully theirs, confident in their future together.
