A couple of law students, Tom Donague and Jack Turnbull, who have run out of money, set off for South Africa to make their fortune. For three years, they fail to make any money, but then one day, as they are up country in a remote spot, their luck changes.

A friend, Dick Wharton appears unexpectedly one night during heavy rain, telling a strange tale of having seen a ghost in the cursed Sasassa Valley. Tom Donague is particularly excited by the story, and determines to uncover the mystery of the apparition.