The Gathering

Cassie is struck by a car on a country road near Ashby Wake and is rushed to hospital. The doctors determine she has only scratches and no concussion, but she wakes up with amnesia, remembering only her name and her country. The crash triggers a shock that erases her sense of who she is and why she is in England.

Mrs. Marion Kirkman offers Cassie shelter at her home while she recovers. The care and quiet routine help Cassie start to regain her strength, though her memory remains elusive. The doctor explains that the memory loss should gradually fade with time.

Cassie grows attached to Mrs. Kirkman’s son Michael and to her husband Simon, who is studying a church in Glastonbury. She becomes part of the household, yet strange glimpses of people and places hint at a hidden danger in the town. The sense of unease deepens as she feels drawn into the mysteries around them.

Simon describes the church’s Early Christian heritage and its unexpected discovery in Glastonbury. Two visitors to the Glastonbury Festival died after falling through the church’s open roof, underscoring a link between the site and the danger Cassie senses. In the church there is a stone relief showing the crucifixion and a crowd of silent onlookers.

Cassie begins having visions of possible futures for those around her. She recognises certain townsfolk and observes places where people converge, including a troubling auto mechanic she keeps noticing. In these visions she senses a looming catastrophe that others dismiss.

Cassie investigates the mechanic, Frederick Argyle, and finds a scrapbook of news clippings about accusations of abuse at a local orphanage. She learns Argyle is one of the abused children and that he identifies with the town’s troubled youth, Michael. His plan is to seek revenge on his abusers, which gives the coming danger a personal edge.

Cassie realises the church relief depicts The Gathering, a group of immortals who have watched humanity's tragedies for centuries. The priest, while trying to warn others, dies in a car accident after glimpsing them on a bridge. The Gathering is revealed to be orchestrating or at least influencing the events Cassie senses.

Cassie experiences a vision of the past abuse: a young Argyle being dragged by the orphanage priest with three men watching. She follows them into a room in the house and wakes, only to see Michael staring at photographs of the archaeological site. The vision confirms the town’s dark history and Cassie’s sense that danger is close.

The Bishop informs Mr. Kirkman of the troubling truth, and he realizes his family is in peril. He races home to protect them as the sense of imminent catastrophe grows. The town’s complacency deepens Cassie’s urgency as she tries to warn others.

Cassie attends the local fair with the Kirkman children, hoping to intervene. Dan reveals himself as a member of The Gathering and has killed the officer on duty. Argyle’s plan to victimize the festival is set in motion, and Cassie fights to prevent the bomb from harming innocent festival-goers.

A harrowing chase unfolds as Cassie tries to stop Argyle from killing the Kirkmans’ family. She sacrifices her life to save the children, buying time for Mr. Kirkman to arrive and intervene. Argyle dies in the confrontation, his crimes finally catching up with him.

Immediately after death, Cassie appears among The Gathering, watching Argyle die with compassion rather than indifference. The others stare motionless as she weeps, suggesting she has chosen mercy over mere observation. Cassie explains that her wandering life has ended and that she has found peace, telling the Kirkmans’ son on the night of her death.