Barbara Wood delivers a gripping story of family secrets, madness, and suspense in nineteenth-century England.
After her mother's death in 1857, Leyla's only links with her heritage and family are a letter and her last name—Pemberton. Resolved to seek out her past, she travels from London to the brooding countryside mansion of Pemberton Hurst. Leyla longs to find a loving family, but more important, she needs to uncover the truth of her past. But the Pembertons seem strangely reluctant to discuss family history, and the house feels smothered by the weight of untold secrets. Increasingly torn between the safety of life with her sophisticated fiancé in London and a new, dangerous love, Leyla is no longer sure where to turn and whom to trust. Then terror strikes. A murderer roams the corridors of Pemberton Hurst, and Leyla is suddenly thrown into a maelstrom of deceit, madness, and horror. With her life in jeopardy, Leyla must uncover the truth of her past before it destroys her.