An orphan boy, Stephen Elliott, goes to live with his reclusive cousin, Mr. Abney, at Aswarby Hall. Though seemingly kind, Abney harbors sinister plans rooted in his obsession with ancient rites of immortality. Haunted visions of two vanished children reveal the terrible truth: they were his earlier victims. On the appointed night, their restless spirits return, and Abney meets a gruesome fate-leaving Stephen spared from becoming the final "lost heart."