1924. When Anastasia's beloved mother dies, she has no choice but to go to rural Skimpole and move in with 'the Aunt' - too fearsome for a first name, an outcast from the village who lives in a dilapidated mansion with two servants and an unruly pack of dogs. The many mysteries of Skimpole are irresistibly intriguing: how did Anastasia's father really die? Who wrote the extremely raunchy love letters she has found in the Aunt's bedroom, signed 'Big Willy'? And why does everyone in the village hate the aunt so much? When some of the Aunt's friends from her youth arrive at the house, Anastasia may be closer to finding out - but the truth she was so desperate to uncover will turn her world upside down.