What It Takes

Haughley House has a dark secret; a secret it has kept hidden for a long time - until now. Sarah Kendrick, driven by a long held fascination for the house and with the help of her partner, Tom Harper finally uncovers the truth behind Haughley's sinister past. It is a quest and a discovery that she and Tom will come to regret, for within hours of discovering this truth, Sarah is dead - another victim of Haughley's secret and Tom is plunged into a nightmare existence from which he can see no escape. He has no one to turn to, no one to talk to, because he knows simply that no one will believe him. He hides the real cause of Sarah's death from everyone including her family, because he can't inflict that pain on them. The real truth of what killed her is a truth he must bear alone. His one consolation in all of this, if it can be called that, is that Haughley House stands empty; all its dark past hidden from the world by its isolation and whilst ever it remains that way it can be a threat to no one else. So, as Tom tries to come to terms with the loss of his beloved Sarah all he can do is pray that the house remains that way for a long time to come. Three years later all his hopes come crashing down around him when Haughley House is sold - to a successful architect from London who plans to restore the place and settle there. Tom's dark nightmares return to haunt him, the tragedy of Sarah's death reawakened in him, but worse is to come when the architect, Sean Hanlon, becomes involved with Sarah's sister, Karen. Tom can only watch uselessly as Sean and Karen quickly fall in love, knowing that now only he can save Karen from the same terrible fate that befell Sarah. Only he can protect her, and he is determined to do whatever it takes, whatever it costs to ensure that Karen doesn't become simply another victim of the malice that lies waiting in Haughley House. But, Sean Hanlon has done some research of his own into the secrets of Haughley House and in the end when Tom's despair finally overwhelms him it is down to Sean to protect the woman he loves, and through her discover that Tom and Sarah only found half of Haughley's secret and that the real truth is more tragic and more dangerous than even they realised.