Hetty finally has a reply to her advertisement in the local press in Whitby. She has been seeking her only known blood relative, Kate Fielding, who immediately invites the Wainthropps to pay a visit. Robert is too busy writing an article for his column in the Ackersley Echo, but Geoff drives Hetty through foreign territory (Yorkshire) to the fishing village of Kirkewell, where Kate runs a pet shop. The cousins are delighted to meet for the first time since childhood and soon Hetty meets some of the other villagers, including Agnes Stubbs. Agnes tells Hetty that her nights have been disturbed by strange sounds and the vision of a padfoot, a dog sent at night by the devil. Hetty is sceptical about the superstitions, but believes that they're not caused by the occasional tipple of sherry either and agrees to help.