 When a friendless old widow dies in the seaside town of Crythin, a young solicitor is sent by his firm to settle the estate. The lawyer finds the townspeople reluctant to talk about or go near the woman s dreary home and no one will explain or even acknowledge the menacing woman in black he keeps seeing. Ignoring the towns-people s cryptic warnings, he goes to the house where he discovers its horrible history and becomes ensnared in its even more horrible legacy.