Catherine Morland whiles away the hours reading sensational Gothic novels, and she could like nothing better. But when she is invited to go to Bath with the Allens, she enjoys the society there, making new friends including the Tilney family. When they invite Catherine to their home, a mysterious suite of rooms arouses her suspicions, and she wonders if a hideous crime has been committed there. She has developed feelings for Henry Tilney, the son of the family, and discovering the truth may be more difficult than she expected. Jane Austen's artful satire of the Gothic novel, (an art form prevalent in her time) was her first finished novel, published posthumously in 1818.