1645. When Alice Hopkins's husband dies tragically, she returns to Manningtree, the small Essex town where her brother Matthew still lives. But home is no longer a place of safety. Whispers are spreading - of witchcraft, and the terrible fate awaiting the women accused. And at the heart of it all stands just one man... To what lengths will Matthew's obsession drive him? And what choice will Alice make, when she finds herself at the very heart of his plan?