At forty-two, newspaperwoman Emma Lord decides she needs time off to do some soul-searching. But her old Jag breaks down in the picturesque Pacific Northwest town of Port Angeles, and instead of finding herself, she's helping friends find the truth about a grisly discovery: a skeleton in their basement. The bones belong to an unknown young woman, buried in a crumbling mansion nearly a century ago. A crushed skull, a garnet earring, a locket containing a telltale keepsake all whisper of tragedy. Ancient photographs reveal more. But Emma has to fish in dark and dangerous waters to get the whole story of a wealthy, ruthless family, a story that twists and turns to a shocking conclusion that should never be told.