In a Balkan forest, an old woman hammers on a church door and demands that something mustn't be allowed to leave there. A young cleaner, Mina, listens intently.

Inside the church Barry Sturges' coffin is surrounded by candles.

Back in England, birthday boy Kevin senses something sinister when Mina arrives looking for work.

But none of these events is more curious than Canon Black asking Strange for his help in solving his sister's death, after her body is found drained of blood...