"Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh" is a gothic novel about an eighteen-year-old girl Maude, raised by her wealthy father, an adherent to a peculiar Scandinavian science religion. Maude grows up amid dark rumors about the character of her father's brother, the mysterious Uncle Silas. After the father's death, Maude is entrusted to her uncle's guardianship. It turns out that Silas has considerable debt. Maude realizes she is the only obstacle standing between her uncle and her father's money.