Dr. Syn is the kindly vicar of the little town of Dymchurch in England. Syn seems like a pleasant fellow, but he is a man with a sinister past. At one time he was the vicious and brutal pirate Captain Nathaniel Clegg, who was supposedly hung at Rye. He is also the mysterious "Scarecrow of Romney Marsh", masked leader of the Demon Riders, a band of local smugglers. Syn can switch between the light and dark sides of his personality with terrifying ease. He is eventually murdered by a man he left for dead as Captain Clegg.