If only I had never opened that letter...and let the devil in Meredith Hathaway has spent the last seventeen years pretending to forget. Until she gets a letter and her world is shattered in an instant. She must finally confront the rise and fall of the Hathaway dynasty...and her own part in their devastating history. 1946 Iowa. One woman is determined to change her fate. With unwavering ambition Lavinia Hathaway will stop at nothing to ensure that her family succeeds at all costs. Now Lavinia's legacy Aurelia, the once magnificent family home, lies empty, a husk of its former self, a gaping wound of the Hathaways. Unable to resist the lure of buried secrets and bitter memories, Meredith must now face the truth or be destroyed by it. The door is open...dare she walk into the past? 'a novel with a gothic feel that is full of fascinating detail and a great sense of place and one that I can't recommend highly enough. It is wonderfully plotted and paced and a complete pleasure to read.' - The Daily Mail