For as long as Charis Lindfield could remember, she had been spoiled and pampered by her handsome father. Despite the awful rumors that raged through the household of his unsavory gambling habits and questionable business dealings, she could only think well of him. She no longer remembered the long months he spent away at London and Paris, but thought only of the wonderful moments when he returned-laden with silks, velvets and intoxicating perfumes-and swept her into his arms and kissed her fondly. When Charis was barely fourteen years old, he died, leaving her penniless and suddenly, life would never seem the same again. Charis was reluctantly taken in by her aging Aunt Lavender, the sister of her dead mother. With Aunt Lavender, Charis was made to earn her keep, as much as Ethel, the scullery maid, or her only friend in the house, Comfort. Before long, Charis was lighting fires, black leading grates, cleaning silver and brass and scrubbing endless stone floors. Worst of all was Aunt Lavender herself - shrewish, fault-finding, critical and cruel - who never missed the opportunity to taunt Charis about her father. Just as it seemed that her misery would go on forever, Aunt Lavender died leaving Charis a small inheritance and a house laden with poisonous memories. It was about this time that Charis learned that she was heir to the estate of Silas Martineau, a man she had never heard of. Against the advice of her stone-faced solicitor, she goes to take charge of the Martineau estate in the rural marshes for a fresh start away from the terrible memories of the past, and to discover her secret tie with Silas Martineau and solve the mystery of her other inheritance. But Charis soon learns that the solution to her mystery is fraught with peril, as she finds it threatens both her sanity and her life.