The great house at Collinwood in the year 1840. A time of intrigue and peril. A time when the evil force of one man came eventually to dominate all who live here. Another day will soon be over, and the search for Julia Hoffman will go on to no avail. Meanwhile in a house near the edge of town, two men discuss the subject of witchcraft. Lamar Trask has been made to believe it is being practiced at Collinwood. As he speaks to Gerard Stiles, he does not know that this is the man who plans to take over the great house and all in it, for Gerard has been taken over by the warlockJudah Zachary.
At Lamar's home, Gerard and Trask are discussing witchcraft. Lamar is convinced that Barnabas and Quentin are up to no good at Collinwood, with Quentin being the more guilty of the two. Gerard mentions that Quentin invited him over to Collinwood for a "surprise". Lamar is greatly intrigued, and warns Gerard to keep his eyes and ears open. Moments later, Gerard pretends that something has gotten caught in his eye, and asks Lamar if he can borrow a handkerchief. Lamar gives him one, and Gerard prepares to leave. Before leaving, Gerard tells Lamar "pleasant dreams," but Lamar says he never has dreams. Gerard says to himself that Lamar will have a dream tonight.
Act I
That night at Collinwood, Quentin takes Gerard to his laboratory and shows him the staircase through time. Gerard seems impressed, and asks Quentin if he's really serious about this being able to work. Quentin tells him he is sure, and soon he is going to test it out to see if it actually works. Quentin leaves to go retrieve his plans and notes he took while building the staircase so he can show them to Gerard. With Quentin gone, Gerard casts a spell using Lamar's handkerchief, and says Lamar will have a dream where an act of witchcraft will be committed.
At Lamar's house, Lamar falls asleep and begins to dream. In his dream, he sees Quentin carrying the dead body of Lorna Bell. Lamar appears and declares that Quentin killed her using witchcraft, and Quentin admits to doing so. Quentin tells Lamar that he is next. Lamar then wakes up, startled and confused.
Meanwhile, Quentin returns to the lab with his plans and gives them to Gerard. Quentin tells Gerard he only needs a few more days to finish the staircase. Samantha then barges in, wanting to talk about "that governess." She sees Gerard and becomes upset, and excuses herself. Gerard apologizes, and Quentin says he won't let Samantha ruin their friendship.
Lamar arrives at Collinwood and meets Samantha in the foyer. He warns her that she must leave Collinwood immediately.
Act II
Lamar and Samantha enter the drawing room. Samantha thinks he is crazy, but Lamar tells her about the dream he just had. He is convinced that Quentin killed Lorna and may have been involved in Roxanne's death. Lamar points to his recent strange behavior and the mark on his ring was the same as the mark on Lorna's head. Samantha appears to start to believe Lamar's claims, but says she can't leave Collinwood without Tad, and Quentin will never let him leave. She requests that Lamar keep her informed about Quentin. Lamar asks Samantha to keep an eye on Quentin, and she agrees to do so. Quentin shows up in the drawing room and Lamar leaves. The two begin immediately arguing about why Gerard was in the house, and she also brings up Joanna. Quentin tells Samantha that Joanna is dead, something that Samantha did not know about. Samantha seems genuinely sympathetic toward Quentin, but tells her to drop the subject. Samantha gets up to leave and tells him to not ask her for any mercy.
Act III
Later, Samantha informs Daniel that Lamar believes Quentin is practicing witchcraft. Samantha points out the staircase through time, and feels he has been acting very strange lately. She then suggests changing the will in favor of Tad. Daniel gets frustrated with her request and says he needs to talk to someone outside of the family about his will.
Meanwhile, Gerard visits Lamar and is surprised he actually went to Samantha to tell her about his dream. Lamar says he did it because he knows that by now, Samantha has probably already told Daniel. Gerard then realizes it was a clever idea, and returns the handkerchief he borrowed from Lamar.
At Collinwood, Daniel calls Quentin into the drawing room and asks him if he is practicing witchcraft.
Act IV
Quentin is immediately furious about the accusations and denies performing witchcraft. He tells Daniel about his staircase through time and says it is a harmless experiment. He realizes Samantha and Lamar are likely the ones telling Daniel about their suspicions. Quentin angrily leaves and on his way out he seem Samantha walking down the stairs. He threatens to kill her if she tries to turn Daniel against him.
Later, Daniel discusses the situation with Gerard. Gerard offers to take him to Quentin's lab and show him around, which will hopefully alleviate any suspicions Daniel may have toward Quentin. They go to the lab, and Daniel surmises that the staircase through time seems innocent enough. While walking up the stairs, Gerard causes Daniel to have a vision of Quentin strangling Lorna. Daniel screams, and then appears to suffer a heart attack.
TIMELINE: Day 423 begins, and will end in 1146. Quentin has arranged to meet Gerard tonight. Gerard arranged to meet Lamar tomorrow. Quentin will have finished construction on the staircase in a few days. Lorna Bell died a couple of days ago, (occurred in 1142).
