Beatrice Steel, always over-possessive about her family home, Pine Hurst, has become insufferably dominating since the death of her mother, ruling her father, her sisters and the servants with an iron hand.  Of course, she constantly has to remind herself, it is her father who actually owns the house, but it is the thought that he might remarry, thus making another woman mistress of Pine Hurst, that fills her with dread.

Then, unexpectedly, her father dies and, when the family gather for the reading of the will, nothing she hears matches her expectations.  It is then she realises that her security is threatened and that she must begin to lay plans to protect her position and allow her to enjoy her most prized possession.

THE OBSESSION is one of Catherine Cookson's most unusual novels, powerfully portrays a woman so driven by the need to protect her inheritance that she will sacrifice almost anything or anyone to ensure she does not lose it.  It is yet another triumph for this most popular of authors.