At the Regimental Ball in 1897, Major Sinclair Yeates tells his love he is resigning his commission to become Resident Magistrate in Ireland. Upon hearing that she is willing to accompany him, he sets off to claim his new post.
Major Yeates arrives at his newly rented house only to find a ramshackle old place with a slovenly woman for a cook, the local master of hounds for a landlord, and mysterious noises that keep him awake at night. Of course, his problems are compounded when his determination to dispense even-handed justice causes him to alienate the entire neighborhood.