Dorothea Hawes possesses an unusual gift. Spirits speak to her, tracing their ephemeral fingers along the edges of her thoughts, treating her to glimpses of other people’s fears and desires. It is a gift that puts her in demand, and brings her to the attention of Rachel Trask, a troubled woman desperate to make contact with the spirit of her deceased son. But it’s not until Dorothea has already pushed through the veil that she realizes Rachel’s sadness may be due to more than mere mourning…

Young Dorothea Hawes finds herself bereft and alone, her parents buried amidst whispers of devilry and scandal. The voices that had plagued her had gone silent, and she hopes it will mean an end to the darkness that took her family. But the cold comfort of her new guardians soon takes on a dangerous edge, and Dorothea fears those entrusted with her safety have instead succumbed to a familiar horror.

Dorothea Hawes has no wish to renew contact with what lies beyond the veil. After an attempt to take her own life, she has retired into seclusion, but as the wounds on her body heal, she is drawn back into a world she wants nothing more than to avoid. She is sought out by Julian Chissick, a former man of God who wants her help in discovering who is behind the gruesome murder of a young woman. But the manner of death is all too familiar to Dorothea, and she begins to fear that something even more terrible is about to unleash itself on London. And so Dorothea risks her life and her sanity in order to save people who are oblivious to the threat that hovers over them. It is a task that forces her into a confrontation with her own lurid past, and tests her ability to shape events frighteningly beyond her control.