The third of her gothic novels, set in France, begins with a mans flight from his creditorsbankruptcy not evidently being in vogue at the timeon a night {that} was dark and tempestuous. Enroute a damsel in distress is forced upon him, his coach is wrecked, and his party seeks refuge (where else) in a dilapidated and gloomy abbey that is deserted, feared to be haunted, replete with endless locked doors, eerie halls, and towersmost of which lead nowhere but to more of the same. These eventually give way to caverns, replete with locked doors, or course. Light is evidently not a problem in these dank, windowless lairs. And, in traversing said apartments, one always seems ascend in order to descend. Here they reside for several months, not having given a thought to repairing the coach. On to the gothic part! Our heroine faces all of the perils of Paulene in the wreckage of the abbey. One after another tension mounts only to be whisked away as foundless fear. Eventually the secret of the abbey is discovered, at least to a point. We must wait for the denouement for the complete picture. And, yes she is relentless pursued by the evil count who owns the abbey: a true model for Snidley Whiplash. Of course, in the end most of this action is worked out as you can surmise, but expect a few surprises anyway.

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