Agnes Corey, an editorial assistant at a small independent publisher, has been hired by enigmatic author Veronica St. Clair to transcribe the sequel to her 1994 hit phenomenon, The Secret of Wyldcliffe Heights. St. Clair has been a recluse since the publication of the Jane Eyre-esque book, which coincided with a terrible fire that blinded and scarred her. Arriving in the Hudson Valley at St. Clair's crumbling estate, which was once a psychiatric hospital for "wayward women," Agnes is eager to ensure St. Clair's devoted fans will get the sequel they've been anticipating for the past thirty years. As St. Clair dictates, Agnes realizes there are clues in the story that reveal the true -- and terrifying -- events that three decades ago inspired the original novel. The line between fact and fiction becomes increasingly blurred, and Agnes discovers terrible secrets about an unresolved murder from long ago that has startling connections to her own life.
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