When Paul is offered a lucrative contract to restore an old house by his old school friend Rollo, he accepts the job without thinking.

Only later do questions begin to form in his mind. Why is he being paid so much for standard restoration work; why is an architect, already famous for his exciting modern designs, so anxious to restore an obscure period house; and what is the nature of his association with the strange threesome whom Rollo's wife refers to as his cronies.

As the answers to these questions slowly emerge, Paul finds himself facing challenges that will test him to the limit.