The great house at Collinwood in the year 1840, a time of crisis for the Collins family. Quentin Collins is on trial for his life, accused of witchcraft. He does not know that Gerard Stiles, now master of the great house, is behind the plot to convict him. Now as Quentin's trial is underway, Barnabas Collins has volunteered to go forward and testify in his behalf. But on this night, Barnabas himself, now no longer under Angelique'scurse and vulnerable to death as any other mortal, will become the target of a vengeful man.
Lamar traps Barnabas in the basement of the chapel and tells him he will suffer the same fate his father did.
Act I
Lamar gloats of his "triumph" against Barnabas and walls him up.
The next morning at Collinwood, Gerard enters the foyer as Julia walks in. Gerard tries to be friendly with her, but Julia has none of it. Julia is looking for Barnabas because he is supposed to testify in Quentin's trial later that day. Lamar shows up, and a disgusted Julia walks out. Lamar implies to Gerard he knows where Barnabas is, and Gerard demands to know.
Act II
Lamar doesn't admit to Gerard what he's done with Barnabas, but says he "suspects" they won't be hearing from him ever again.
Julia goes to the jail to see Quentin, and they both wonder where Barnabas is. Quentin is convinced someone did something to him to prevent him from testifying.
Lamar returns to the basement of the chapel and taunts a weak Barnabas from the other side of the wall. He reveals that his disappearance came as a shock to everyone, and could be a turning point in the trial.
At Collinwood, Daphne enters the drawing room and asks Gerard what happened the previous night in her room. Gerard is hesitant at first, but then reveals that "someone" entered her room with a knife.
Act III
Gerard fabricates the remainder of his story and tells Daphne that "Joanna" vanished when she realized that Daphne wasn't in the bed. The two try to think of another way to contact Joanna. Gerard thinks they should have Quentin write a note to Joanna and then Daphne will leave it in the tree. Daphne is skeptical, but Gerard is persistent.
Lamar again goes to the basement in the chapel and again taunts Barnabas, who doesn't reply to him.
Daphne goes to visit Quentin and shows him the most recent letter from Joanna. Daphne is convinced Joanna will soon appear and kill her.
Act IV
Daphne contemplates fleeing Collinsport. She tells him Gerard's plan of having Quentin write a letter and Daphne will take it to the oak tree. Quentin agrees, but he's worried that Daphne will get caught. She manages to convince him otherwise.
Gerard meets with Lamar at Collinwood, and tells him his "sources" believe that Quentin will try to communicate with the dead that night. Lamar becomes very intrigued.
Meanwhile, Julia runs into Daphne, who asks about Barnabas. Julia has no news, other than the police are now searching for him, along with Valerie. Daphne leaves to "go run an errand" and Julia enters the drawing room, interrupting Gerard and Lamar. She smartly asks them what they have done with Barnabas, but they both continue to deny everything. Lamar casts suspicion away from him by telling Julia he is mystified by Gerard's "loyalty" to Quentin and walks out. Gerard invites Julia to have a drink, but she leaves without saying anything.
In the woods, Daphne prepares to put the note in the oak tree, but Lamar catches her and takes the letter.
TIMELINE: Day 433 begins, and will end in 1174/1175. It's morning. It was last night when Gerard caught Samantha attempting to kill Daphne (occurred in 1170). It's near the end of Barnabas' first full day in confinement.
Bloopers and continuity errors
In the opening scene, audio from another scene between Barnabas and Trask can be heard faintly in the background. It is the case on other episodes as well. Perhaps someone on the production crew was editing other scenes while current scenes were being filmed? Another possibility is print-through, a common occurrence with magnetic tape, in which the audio of one section of tape, being pressed close to the other layers, can transfer the magnetic patterns. Lacy's loud and sharp voice in this scene would make this even more apparent.
It is stated to have been "yesterday" when Gerard attempted to destroy Barnabas as a vampire, as seen in 1168. However, there has been a gap of at least one day since then.
In Act II when speaking to Gerard, Trask refers to Barnabas as "Barnabas Collims."
