Penelope Darlin, the romantically challenged proprietor of the Lilac Grange retirement home, is regularly murdering her elderly residents in the name of profit. Next on her to do list is ninety one year old Catherine Scrivens, but Catherine is aware of Ms. Darlin's business model, and determined not to go down without a fight, she recruits two accomplices who are hell bent on getting to Penelope before she gets to them.
Meanwhile Linda Hawthorne, a Grange staff member, inherits 'Mac Lir's Gate', a strange and ancient artifact with the power to transport her to the Wildwood, a place of Celtic myth and legend. Intrigued by Mac Lir's Gate, Linda begins to experiment with its power and accidentally releases the Black Dog, a vicious and predatory creature who wants the gate and will do anything necessary to possess it.
When the fates of these characters clash, the result is the kind of horrific and farcical bedlam that only John Vault's readers are accustomed to.
In Crones there is comedy, tragedy and romance, ably assisted by Banshees, talking animals, Celtic spirits, murder in the tool shed and three delightful old ladies with a dark and bloody secret... and a zombie.