The episode opens with the unsettling news that partial remains of a young woman were discovered in the old smokehouse on the Blackwood estate. The master and mistress of the house are at the scene, and the news is being suppressed. Miss Grace, the daughter of the house, confronts a servant about their father's orders, revealing her unnatural calm about the grim discovery before threatening the servant into silence. Later, Grace confronts her father, pressing him about a burnt paper and a man named Wade, suggesting his involvement. She finds a clue, a single initial 'W', and demands to know its connection to the night the remains were moved, setting a direct confrontation into motion.