Ringing the Changes

The story concerns a recently married couple, Gerald and Phrynne Banstead, who are spending their honeymoon in October in the seaside town of Holihaven in the east of England. Almost as soon as they arrive in town, they hear the sound of a loud bell tolling. By the time they have walked through the deserted streets to their hotel, many more bells have started ringing loudly. The only other person staying at the hotel, a long term resident and former military man known as Commandant Shotcroft, tells Gerald to leave immediately because the bells are being rung to wake the dead.